


Fire Ecology

by TheGreatTribbleEmpire



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen, Half Senju Obito, Mokuton Obito, Senju Clan headcannons, Uchiha Obito Headcannons, What Happened to the Senju?, mystery elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2018-11-02 21:16:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 23,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10952877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatTribbleEmpire/pseuds/TheGreatTribbleEmpire
Summary: Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with natural processes involving fire in an ecosystem and the ecological effects. Many plant species in fire-affected environments require fire to germinate, establish, or to reproduce.  Wildfire suppression not only eliminates these species, but also the animals that depend upon them.





	1. Pyriscence

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Stormborn](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1877970) by [blackkat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat). 



Plants have evolved many adaptations to cope with fire. Of these adaptations, one of the best-known is likely pyriscence, where maturation and release of seeds is triggered, in whole or in part, by fire or smoke; this behavior is often erroneously called serotiny, although this term truly denotes the much broader category of seed release activated by any stimulus.

* * *

 

It was late afternoon the temperature was dropping and the shadows growing at the sun began to give up its place in the sky. Obito didn’t pay any attention to it though; he would stay out as long as he had to until he got this right, until it finally, finally worked and then he could show them all he was a proper Uchiha and that his claims of becoming Hokage were more than boasts.

 He shivered as a cold wind blew through the clearing and noticed that his jacket was ripped again. Dammit now he’d have to fix it before tomorrow’s training session. Looking around at the lengthening shadows he wondered if maybe he should just go back now he could get up early to practice. He cut that thought of, no he was going to do this he was going to get it on the next try and then tomorrow he could shove it Kakashi’s stupid face.

With that thought he focussed on his breathing and began to gather his chakra before he made the hand signs with clear confidence.

“Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu” He shouted breathing out feeling the chakra move and the flames grow only for it to slip his control with the feeling of his charka falling through his grip like rope as an explosion rocked the clearing. Hurriedly beating out the small flames that had latched onto his jacket Obito flopped onto the ground with a groan. Why? Why was it so difficult for him to manage this?

In many ways it was worse than the fact that he still didn’t have his Sharingan at least with that there wasn’t a set trigger every Uchiha was different and all he could do was wait and train. Yes it was hugely embarrassing when his younger cousins were all showing of theirs but at least he had an excuse. With the Great Fireball there was detailed instructions and advice and all sorts of tips on managing your Chakra flow with Katon jutsu’s and yet he still failed.

Lying back on the grass he sighed and tried to push that thought to the side. He would get it right and then he would become Hokage he just had to believe in it. A breeze rustled the braches of the trees around him and Obito smiled. He had always enjoyed nature and even in his worst moments when he was most upset being surrounded by fire country’s thick forests eased something deep inside him. He stayed like that for the longest moment just extending his senses and listening to world around him.

Something moved among the trees and Obito sat up hurriedly looking in that direction with a confused frown. There was no sound, no physical trace of anything being of and even reaching out with his Chakra there was only the strange sense of something being there.

“Obito?” Came a familiar voice from behind him and he started turning to see his sensei standing on the other side of the clearing. The cheery blond gave him a smile but there was a slight bit of worry in it. “Are you ok you looked tense?”

“I’m fine sensei” He said returning the smile even as he turned his attention to the forest. That strange sense of something was gone “I just, I was resting after my training and I thought I sensed something.” Minato looked off towards the trees thoughtfully for a moment.

“Well everything seems normal now” He said after a pause.

“It was probably nothing” Obito said he kind of felt silly for mentioning it because it wasn’t like he could even define what ‘it’ was.

“Maybe” Minato smiled and gesturing to the scorch marks on his jacket asked “I take it you were working on your Katon Jutsus”?

“Yeah. Only…” Obito grimaced “It’s just not working Minato Sensei. I keep trying and I know I’m following the directions correctly but it keeps going wrong.”

“What about it is going wrong?”

Obito thought about that for a while as his teacher sat down cross-legged beside him. He was doing all of the technical parts right and he wasn’t using too much Chakra.

“It’s sort of like this resistance whenever I try to make the Chakra do what I want.” He rubbed his head in frustration he had never been good with all the theory behind things, that was Minato-Sensei and Kakashi’s area he had always been one to push through his problems. “It’s frustrating, the Uchiha are supposed to be good with fire but at this rate I feel like I’d do better with a water jutsu.”

Minato-Sensei laughed, not unkindly (never unkindly with him) but with amusement at the idea. “That is rather unlikely although not a bad idea” at Obito’s confused look he explained. “Most of the Uchiha clan has a fire affinity but not all of them. You might be having a harder time because you have a different nature.”

“Do you think so” Obito asked thoughts whirling. Could that be the reason he was having trouble? On one hand it was something else to set him apart from the rest of his clan but on the other it meant there was a reason other than him just messing it up and being useless at jutsus.

“It’s possible that only way to know for sure is to try other types of jutsu’s and see what works for you.” Minato stood his expression kind as he looked down at Obito. “I can see if I have any basic scrolls that could help you. It’s getting a bit late for training anyway”.

Obito eagerly jumped to his feet and nodded at his teacher before following him back towards the village his heart feeling infinitely lighter in his chest. He had never been a normal Uchiha anyway so having a different affinity wouldn’t change that much obviously he’d still have to learn that fireball jutsu at some point but he had time and right now this was a lot more important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was going to wait a week to post this but it was as complete as I could really make it without adding stuff for the sake of adding stuff so I decided to post it now. 
> 
> This kind of developed from a melting pot of ideas and headcannons some of them probably inspired by other works so if you think that might be the case let me know and I'll give them a shout out. The idea of Obito as half Senju was definitely inspired by blackkat and her Stormborn fic for example and I encourage anyone who reads this to check that out.
> 
> Please let me know what you think in the comments or on my tumblr at thegreattribbleempire.tumblr.com


	2. Fire Intolerance

Fire-intolerant plant species tend to be highly flammable and are destroyed completely by fire. Some of these plants and their seeds may simply fade from the community after a fire and not return, others have adapted to ensure that their offspring survives into the next generation.

 

* * *

 

It had been two weeks and his previously strong resolve was becoming difficult to remember. He had spent nearly every waking moment since that evening researching or in the clearing practising different jutsu’s in all the elements even water out of some sort of desperation. Some had worked better than others and most had come easier to his call than the fire but there was a struggle with each one that was depressing.

Maybe he wasn’t ever going to be good at jutsu’s? The thought was a common one that Obito had been trying to push out of mind since before he started this quest but it had gotten stronger in the face of his failure. A small part of him wished that Minato had never even said anything, being a bad Uchiha was better than being a bad ninja period.

Rin had become an ever greater comfort in the face of repeated disappointments. She was constantly cheerful, always encouraging and reminding Obito of what he was working for. It worked even now just thinking of her easy smile strengthened his resolve. He was not going to fail. Even if it was a struggle every step of the way he would make it work. He would work until he could do all of these jutsu’s and then he would become Hokage for sure.

Still he couldn’t be practicing all the time so right now he was digging through boxes that had been hidden away in a back room of his little house. Theory was something he was awful at even if it wasn’t just plain boring so he had slept through it in the Academy. Only it turns out that all that theory is actually really important.

He managed to find a few old scrolls a few days ago whilst cleaning that had really helped with his understanding of Katon jutsus so he was hopeful that there would be more in there somewhere.

It was taking some time though because most of it was things from his parents. Obito didn’t really remember them since they had died when he was really young but he did have vague recollections of woman with a high laugh and a man surrounded by the scent of fresh grass. Now he is finding pictures and mementos and it’s dragging up more confusing emotions than he had expected.

Closing up the latest box of old keepsakes he hesitantly reaches out to open up the next box and begins to sort out the contents. It’s a mix of old textbooks which he puts to one side for later and children’s toys. He examines the former curiously but just as he’s about to push the box aside he notices a small rolled up scroll at the bottom.

Carefully he picks up the scroll and unrolls it reading the first few words before he stops and blinks in surprise as he realises it’s a list of jutsus and not just that but unless he’s mistaken then that says Mokuton. Why on earth is there a list of Mokuton jutsus in with a bunch of old toys in his house?

Obito isn’t exactly very knowledgeable about history but he knows that the last known user of that ability was Senju Hashirama.

Now deeply confused he scans through the rest of the scroll, it’s not all jutsus he notices, there’s notes in a neat careful hand about chakra control and theory but all of it seems to relate back to the topic of wood jutsus.

There’s a piece of paper attached to the end of the scroll in a different handwriting and he picks it up hoping it will make sense of things.

_Dear Cousin._

_I know your problems with the Clan and believe me I am not asking you to make peace with them your choices are your own and I respect that. However you need to know that things are becoming increasingly troubled around here. I can’t explain it but I am sure there is something wrong. Maybe it is just my imagination but I worry for our future. Our numbers are falling fast and old bloodlines and techniques are being lost daily._

_That is why I am sending you this for safe keeping. You have a life and a son outside of the Clan’s reach even if things do not get better you will still be free of this curse. I will do what I can to change things but I don’t want our history to be lost and I know you will feel the same._

_Please for my sake keep this safe and let us hope I am simply paranoid._

_Rinji_

The letter is yet another confusing twist that leaves him wondering even more than before. He’s never heard of a Rinji before and while a scroll about an old bloodline is certainly something you would want to hide he can’t understand why it was hidden here of all places.  He searches through the rest of the box trying to see if there was anything else in it that would explain how and why it ended up in the house of a small Uchiha family but finds nothing.

Maybe he could trace the name? The writer of this has to be from Konoha and from an old clan so there has to be records somewhere and this scrolls been here for ages so it’s not like he doesn’t have time.

The mention of time makes him realise how late it has become so he packs up the box and taking the scroll and the letter he heads to the kitchen to grab something to eat. He doesn’t actually look at the scroll again until later that night when he’s back in his room. He needs to be up early tomorrow to meet his team but surely a quick read can’t hurt.

He doesn’t expect to get very far but it turns out that whoever wrote this was really good at explaining things. Obito has read through so many jutsu scrolls in the past few weeks that he thinks he could write one himself and most of them were either overly complicated or way to simple with jumps and gaps that he struggled to fill on his own. This person has a simple way of writing that makes it almost easy to understand even without any prior knowledge of Mokuton.

It’s a late hour when he finally falls asleep with the scroll clutched in one hand and Chakra theory filling his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the first notes of our mystery. Most of this is not a mystery to anyone but the character's seeing as I put it in the tags. But hopefully the note is subtle enough to say what needs to be said without giving everything away. I've never tried to do any kind of mystery story before so it's all about trying to find the balance. 
> 
> Anyway if anyone wants to disscuss this or just say high feel free to message me on Tumblr at thegreattribbleempire. Or you can comment here however I can't always access Ao3 so it may take a few days for me to answer.


	3. Karrikins

Karrikins produced by bushfires occur largely in the ash at the site of the fire. Rains occurring after the fire wash the karrikins into the soil where dormant seeds reside. The karrikins and water can provide a 'wake-up call’ for such seeds, triggering germination of the soil seed bank. The plants that emerge grow quickly, flower and produce new seeds, which fall to the ground. These seeds can remain in the soil for decades, until the next fire produces fresh karrikins.

 

* * *

 

Obito is late the next day to the surprise of no one. He doesn’t try to give an excuse this time just smiles apologetically and says “I over slept.” Kakashi scoffs loudly and Obito growls at the smug jerk as he delivers a brilliant comeback, which leads to Rin and Minato-Sensei trying to break them up as normal before they finally begin training.

Obito throws himself into the warm up exercises with a new level of enthusiasm, everything today seems brighter somehow. The strangeness of yesterday’s discovery is still in his mind but most of his thoughts are on the contents of the scroll and he can’t wait to tell Minato-Sensei what he discovered.

He’s not stupid so he knows that Mokuton isn’t something you learn but that doesn’t mean all of its useless and the future Hokage has to have as many tricks as possible up his sleeve. His sensei is also a bit of a nerd sometimes so he’s sure Minato will be just as interested. As soon as they split up for pair exercises bounds over to his sensei who smiles at him warmly.

“You’re looking happy today Obito? Did you make any progress?”

 Obito nods and opens his mouth to explain about what he found only to stop because how does he explain something like this especially when he can’t even really explain how and why that sort of stuff is in his house. He trusts his sensei but a part of him (the same part that says there’s something important going on) says that talking about his find could mean it’s taken away before he can learn anything.

More than anything Obito wants to know who wrote that letter and how they knew his parents but that means he can’t tell Minato about the scroll either. It’s annoying but he reasons that there is no harm in keeping his secret for a little while.  

“Not really.” He pulls a face as he says it because it’s still grating how slowly jutsus work for him. “I found a scroll with some good chakra control exercises.” It’s not a lie because Obito is bad at those but it’s not the whole truth, there was charka control exercises in there after all. His teacher looks interested at that just like Obito knew he would, he hopes briefly that Minato won’t want to see it but

“Do you have the scroll with you?” Of course Obito just had to jinx it didn’t he.

Shaking his head he pulls an embarrassed face and explains “I left it at home.”

“That’s a shame but maybe next time. Do you remember what they were about?”

“NO! Umm I mean” He cast around for something that would rely on Mokuton “I remember one that was about strengthening your chakra pathways improve control, but I think it was talking about affinities and I still don’t really know what my affinity is yet.” 

Minato considers that for a moment “Well maybe this could help with that?” He suggests “if it’s working on strengthening your pathways that should help all your jutsus, it’s just that your affinity would be most easily improved.”

Obito hadn’t actually considered it that way, he’d thought it could be useful sure but there had been so much to take in that small things like that hadn’t really occurred as he was reading. Minato continues oblivious to his thoughts. “Come on you can show me what you learned and then we’ll see what we can do ok.”

Obito nods eagerly and they both sit down cross-legged as Obito recites what he had read. It takes them a couple of minutes like that before Minato-Sensei gives his approval and encourages him to try it whilst he monitors Obito’s chakra.

The exercise is relatively simple and more about maintaining an awareness on your chakra and how it interacts with the flow of natural chakra around it. It also stresses contact with the ground which Obito guesses must have something to do with Mokuton but he can’t explain that without explaining everything else and it might be crucial so he takes of his sandals and starts focussing.

It doesn’t work at first but with a little encouragement from Minato he starts pushing deeper going through the movements over and over until his awareness of the world begins to sharpen. It’s then that he notices the gentle pulling feeling coming from beneath his feat, barely there but real and persistent and his chakra is pulsing back, reaching, responding.

 Instinctively Obito reaches out as well unable to help himself from following the pull down and for a brief moment he is more than his body, his chakra resonates through the ground around him and there is an instinctive awareness of the ancient roots and reaching branches of the trees around them. There is so much life around him, so much that it almost overwhelms him.

Curiously he reaches out more to actually touch the threads of chakra around him and pulls, the world spins and Obito spins with it reaching out desperately for something to hold onto.

There is a cry and the feeling of being picked up, the connection between him and the ground breaks with a jolt and Obito is contained once again within his body. His first thought is that he is tired. His second once he opens his eyes is that he is so so tired. The world around him is out of focus but he can make out the worried face of Minato above him.

“Obito? Obito are you ok?”

“I’m fine Sensei.” He tries to leaver himself up but has to stop with a groan as his head spins even more. Minato wraps an arm around Obito to steady him face even more concerned and Obito attempts a smile in an effort to keep Minato from fretting, it falls flat so he drops the smile and says.

“Really Sensei I’m ok I, I think I just need a rest.”

“You need a rest?! Obito you could have killed yourself!” Rin’s shriek echoes through the clearing making his head throb but he ignores it at the shear worry and anger in her voice, Rin doesn’t often get like that but when she does they have all learnt to listen, so Obito grits his teeth and pushes himself up into a proper sitting position and looks at Rin only...

“What happened?” The clearing they were using is a mess of torn up earth with roots reaching up through the surface like grasping fingers and in the centre there’s a small sapling sprouting up right next to where Rin is standing, almost twice as tall as she is.

Kakashi is next to her his small form dwarfed by the greenery as he stares at the new plant life with actual unconcealed shock and that is almost as surprising as the scenery.

“We’re not sure.” Minato answers in a serious tone “Your chakra suddenly began to surge and before I could break you out of it this happened.”

“You collapsed Obito.” Rin stresses hurrying over in full scolding mode “and your chakra levels are still dangerously low.”

“What were you even doing that you messed up this badly?” Kakashi asks shock now concealed by a look of distain. Obito is about to tell him that he didn’t mess anything up damn it but the new tree kind of says otherwise.

“It was supposed to be a chakra control exercise.” Minato explains before looking at Obito with a serious expression “I think you need to show me this scroll you found.”

The Scroll. The words echo in his mind, the scroll about _Mokuton._ Oh Sage.

“Ah” He says sheepishly “About that sensei.” He doesn’t need to see their faces to know there is no way this is going to end well.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we have the first use of Mokuton. I wasn't planning on it being in front of other people but making it happen here just made so much sense when I was writing. 
> 
> Thanks to anyone whose commented. I'm still rather new to this and it's great encouragement to know that people are enjoying these stories. If anyone wants to discuss anything about this fic or anything else I am on tumblr at thegreattribbleempire.tumblr.com.


	4. Restoration Ecology

Restoration ecology is the name given to an attempt to reverse or mitigate some of the changes that humans have caused to an ecosystem. Controlled burning is one tool that is currently receiving considerable attention as a means of restoration and management. Applying fire to an ecosystem may create habitats for species that have been negatively impacted by fire suppression, or fire may be used as a way of controlling invasive species without resorting to herbicides or pesticides.

 

* * *

 

To say that Obito’s team was unhappy with him was an understatement. Kakashi hadn’t had much to say other than some sharp words about the stupidity of trying jutsu’s he didn’t understand but Rin and Minato were completely different stories.

 Rin had been more angry than he had could ever recall seeing her and was attempting to redirect most of that into fussing over Obito’s health with occasional angry lectures about safety that made him regret ever finding that scroll, Minato sensei had gone very still and serious in a way that was somehow more scary than an angry Rin (although only just) and demanded that Obito retrieve the scroll and letter at once.

He hadn’t tried to argue about it, more than aware that he had made a massive mistake. And now Obito sat at his sensei’s table surrounded by his team being force fed high nutrient food and charka restoratives as Minato read the scroll and its attached contents. He could only thank his luck that Kushina didn’t know about this or he would be dead.

Face still frighteningly blank Minato finally set the documents down and looked up at Obito. “You found this in your house?”

“Yes sensei.” He nods “it was in a box of old toys and books, I didn’t even realise what it was till I opened it.” 

“So you decided to use it.” The scorn in Kakashi’s voice makes Obito bristle but before he can say anything Minato cuts in.

“Kakashi.”

“But sensei he should have taken this to you or the Hokage. Not tried to use an unknown jutsu on himself.”

 Their teacher was quite for a moment and then said “Whilst Obito should absolutely have brought this to me or explained the full contents rather than trying to hide it.” There was a disappointed look at Obito as he said that. “The technique we tried is exactly as Obito described it. I can’t find any reason for it to have caused _that_ reaction.” 

That meaning the Mokuton that Obito was desperately trying to pretend he hadn’t just used because, well it was Mokuton! “Are you sure there isn’t something in there that could have caused it?” He asks cautiously because it has to be something with the technique there can’t be another option.

Minato shakes his head. “No the exercise we used was solely about strengthening what was already there nothing else.”

“But that’s impossible.” Kakashi points out. “Moukton isn’t an Uchiha ability.”

It’s what Obito has been thinking on a loop since he saw what he had done to the clearing but to hear it said out loud like that makes him flinch. Because he was always a bad Uchiha and never tried to hide that but to be so bad at it that he develops another clan’s bloodline limit instead of his own is, is…  

Obito doesn’t realise he’s started panicking until Rin wraps her arms around him and pulls him in for a hug. He holds on tightly and breaths deeply until the thoughts aren’t so overwhelming.

“It Ok Obito.” He hears her say. “We’ll figure it out. There has to be some kind of answer right.”  He pulls away and nods smiling at her. It’s a smaller one than he would normally use but it’s real and that’s the main thing right about now.

“I was going to try and find out who the person writing was.” Obito admits looking around at them. “It was in with my parents things, maybe this person knew them?” The last part of that came out weaker than he wanted but Obito held his chin up firmly until he feels of a small hand grasping his. He turns and sees Rin her expression reassuring and determined. 

“Then that’s where we start. Right?” She addresses the last part at the others her voice firm and unquestioning.

 “Of course.” Minato responds immediately a smile returned to his face. Bakashi takes a second before agreeing but it’s not out of reluctance.

“We should look at family records.” Kakashi says. “We can’t access the Uchiha ones but the Senju records are held in the archives.”

“We’ll need special permission for that” their sensei reminds them “but it’s a good idea.”

Obito’s chest is feeling almost uncomfortably tight even as his face begins to heat up. “Are, are you going to show this to the Hokage?” He asks in an attempt to distract himself and the others before he ruins the moment with tears.

His sensei goes back to looking serious again. “I think I’ll have to, given what happened during training. But I’ll try and make sure it’s kept classified till we find out what’s going on.”  He stops frowning to give Obito a beaming look and adds excitedly. “With how little is known about Mokuton we might even be given access to some of the more secure areas of the records! Isn’t that great.”

There are times when his sensei seems like the coolest person in the world and others when he is a complete and utter dork. Obito had known he would get excited over the idea of researching Mokuton but to get this enthused about libraries? He shared a look with his teammates that made it clear that they were thinking the same thing.

A door opens and shuts in the hall and shortly after Kushina walks into the room hair loose and trailing behind her like a river of red. She takes one look at her fiancée and snorts in amusement. “What set pretty boy of this time?”

Obito turns pleading eyes on his teammates praying one of them won’t mention the stupid stunt during training because Kushina is downright terrifying when angry. Thankfully Rin is the one to speak up.

“Obito found a strange scroll and it looks like it will take a lot of research to figure out.” She chirps with a sweet smile and if Obito hadn’t been on the other end of her angry worry a few minutes ago he never would have thought it possible.

“I should have guessed it was something nerdy like that.” Kushina laughed as she slid around the side of the table ruffling Kakashi’s hair as she passed.

“Kushina.” Minato whined “this is really important.”

“Sure it is.” She responded “But that doesn’t mean you aren’t behaving like a total dork.” Their sensei pouted a little but brightened instantly when Kushina leaned down and pressed a kiss to his cheek. 

“Now are we ordering in or is someone going to cook? I could kill for some ramen right about now.”

The conversation quickly turns into a friendly argument about food preferences Obito lets them argue and pulls the old scroll over. It’s heavy in his hand and his mind spins with all the questions this small object has caused.

But it doesn’t feel as daunting as it did a moment ago, not while he’s sat pressed up close against Rin with Minato and Kushina playfully bickering opposite and Kakashi a somewhat unexpected but very welcome support on his other side.

Its warmth, home and family and Obito can’t bring himself to worry what he is or isn’t when he has all this right before him. So he puts the scroll away and joins in the debate with his heart feeling like it is going to burst in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been an interesting month with this story to say the least but I'm pretty satisfied with the end product. Haven't got much else to say but if you have any questions leave a comment or message me on my tumblr thegreattribbleempire.tumblr.com


	5. Crown Sprouting

Crown sprouting is the ability of a plant to regenerate its shoot system after destruction (usually by fire) by activating dormant vegetative structures to produce regrowth from the root crown (the junction between the root and shoot portions of a plant).

In contrast to plant fire survival strategies that decrease the flammability of the plant, or by requiring heat to germinate, crown sprouting allows for the total destruction of the above ground growth. Crown sprouting plants typically have extensive root systems in which they store nutrients allowing them to survive during fires and sprout afterwards.

 

* * *

 

The morning sun was just showing itself in the sky when Obito stumbled out of bed and down into his kitchen with bleary eyes. He wasn’t used to being awake so early but sleep had come to him restlessly and eventually he had startled awake from an unremembered dream and decided it wasn’t worth trying to get more sleep.

He ate in silence yawning frequently until the fog had mostly cleared itself from his brain enough that he can think about the day ahead. Their team has been spending half of each day training as normal and the other half searching through the old shinobi clan records under the excuse of reorganizing and make a fresh record of all the old documents.

 It’s a valid excuse as that part of the achieve is not only huge and complicated but also a complete mess and Obito has swiftly come to hate whoever was responsible because finding what he’s actually after has been next to impossible.

Obito’s not sure what he expected when the Hokage gave them permission to start looking through some of the more classified family records. An immediate answer to all his problems was a bit too obvious but he’d have at least liked an answer to who that scroll belonged to by now. To be denied those answers by poor filing is one of the most frustrating things he can remember.

Bracing himself for another day of frustration Obito gets up and goes to wash of his plate only to stop and stare at the two potted plants sat peacefully on the windowsill. Have they gotten bigger?              

Carefully Obito reaches out one hand and runs his fingers across the leaves of the nearest one. There’s a spark of feeling beneath his touch and the whole plant almost seems to twist in his direction before Obito hurriedly pulls his hand back and covers his face with a groan.

 It was agreed that until they knew _why_ Obito had Mokuton it should be kept quiet but despite his best efforts at control things kept happening. So far it was only small things like this but sooner or later he knew it would happen where some could see and then all the following chaos would be on him.

Ok that was perhaps a little dramatic but not by much! Obito knew enough of clan politics to know that it was a delicate balance held in place by the thinnest of tethers and an Uchiha with Mokuton was like taking a wrecking ball to a house of cards.

With a long sigh Obito dumps his plate in the sink for later and turns to go back upstairs determined not to let himself get bogged down with more gloomy thoughts. He maybe only delaying the inevitable but he’s good at delaying.

He only gets half way across the room before a shiver goes up his spine and something flares briefly in the back of his mind. He spins before he knows what’s going on his body recognising danger but his kitchen is as empty as it ever was and when Obito stretches out his senses there is nothing out of the ordinary. Cautiously he relaxes and after a few more moments of nothing he decides it must have been an error and hurries up to his room to get dressed.

Waking up so early may have been exhausting but it comes with the advantage that Obito can for once take his time getting ready. By the time he leaves the house he still has enough time to consider a quick side trip to the weapons shop (not to buy anything but there are a few items he’s been keeping an eye on) whilst still being able to get to the meeting point on time.

This plan is swiftly knocked of course once he reaches the entrance of the Uchiha district and finds both his teammates standing there. Kakashi is standing back looking as standoffish as ever but Rin is staring down the gate guard with steel in her eyes and he’s pretty sure the poor guy she’s focussed on is 30 seconds for folding like paper.

“Rin? Kakashi? What are you doing here?”

Rin turns immediately to face him with a happy smile all traces of the angry aura she had before gone and the guy she was facing breaths an obvious sigh of relief. Obito remembers Rin’s protective fury when he first activated his Mokuton and doesn’t envy the poor guy. People always assume Rin is so sweet and she is but there is a core of fierce protectiveness in there that any sane person would avoid setting of.

“We thought it would be nice for all of us to walk together since we have to meet sensei at the Hokage tower.” Meaning of course that Rin decided it and Bakashi decided it wasn’t worth arguing over. Still company would be a nice change right now and Rin has always had a way of making big things seem easy and manageable.

“Sure.” He replies with a large grin feeling a surge of warmth as she returns it before grabbing his hand and leading him down the street. Their pace is quick and Obito has to hurry to keep up at first until they pass out of sight of the compound entrance and they slow down. He considers asking what happened at the gate to make Rin this tense but quickly decides this isn’t the best time.

Kakashi, creeper that he is, stays slightly behind them even once they’ve slowed down and Obito really needs to ask what is up with him because Bakashi has always been weird but Obito’s pretty sure he’s getting even stranger.

For one thing Kakashi has also been staring at him _a lot_. Never openly but he can’t count the amount of times now he’s felt eyes on him and turned around to find Kakashi lingering somewhere nearby. It’s getting kind of distracting actually. Obito gets that he’s stumbled into something big but Kakashi has never paid him this much attention before outside of when they are fighting and without being able to resort to their normal insults he’s not sure how to react to this.

They arrive at the Hokage tower before he can think on it further and Obito mentally prepares himself to several hours of sorting out the mess that is the records archive. They find their sensei inside talking quietly with the Hokage. The conversation stops as the two adults notice them and Minato smiles brightly as he greets them.

“Everyone’s here early today that’s great! Ready to get started?” Obito nods still slightly tired but ready to go and at the same time Rin chimes out a happy agreement, she sounds much calmer than she was earlier, which is a relief.

“Such enthusiasm.” The Hokage comments with a wry look. “Minato we’ll continue this conversation later.”

“Of course Hokage-Sama” Minato bows formerly before leading the way down the hall in the direction of the archives, they all follow his example saying goodbye to the Hokage before hurrying after their teacher.

As they go an old man with dark hair steps out from around the corner and Obito has to take a quick step to the side to avoid hitting him, the man barely listens to Obito’s apologies before starting off again making his way towards the Hokage. Obito’s a bit annoyed at the rudeness but doesn’t have time to linger and he rushes after his team catching up with them as they descend the steps towards where the old archives are stored.

Minato undoes the security seals with ease and pushes open the doors. Before them stacks upon stacks of shelves full of paper and ink lie in towering piles and everything smells of dust and old paper. Somewhere in there is the clue Obito is looking for now he just needs to find it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was an interesting one. It was supposed to be completely different but after I had written it I realised it just didn't work and had to rush to write a new one. Thank good I give myself a buffer zone that's all I can say. 
> 
> Any early chaos aside this chapter was a fun one to write and a lot better than the previous attempt so I'm excited to see what people think of it. :) Next chapter will be up on time in a month and then things will really be getting fun.


	6. Animal Response: Birds

Like plants, animals display a range of abilities to cope with fire, but they differ from plants in that they must avoid the actual fire to survive. Although birds are vulnerable when nesting, they are generally able to escape a fire; indeed they often profit from being able to take prey fleeing from a fire and to recolonize burned areas quickly afterwards. Some birds are potentially responsible for intentional fire propagation to flush out prey

 

* * *

 

They work for the rest of the morning sorting through the archives but aside from a few scattered mentions of the occasional Senju by the name of Rinji there is nothing to give context to either the letter or Obito’s sudden manifestation of Mokuton.

It was becoming frustrating not just because they weren’t finding what they wanted but rather because there didn’t seem to be anything to find. Every time they thought they had found something that could lead to answers the necessary record seemed to be missing or damaged.

By the time they break for lunch they have manged to work through a large section of the remaining records and it’s becoming apparent that there are holes everywhere. They are all small holes and considering the mess it’s possible that the missing scrolls are just mixed in with another section but Obito doesn’t think so. Neither does anyone else based on the tense expression that has settled on Minato’s face nor the frown Kakashi’s been wearing as the day went on.

“Sensei who has access to these records?” Rin asks once they’ve left the Hokage tower behind them voice quiet but firm and there’s a firm considering look on her face that he remembers seeing in the academy when she was struggling to work out an answer.

“Only the Hokage is supposed to have unlimited access to this section.” Minato says concern evident in his voice “anyone else needs to obtain special permission. These records are those that have been entrusted to the village for safekeeping, mostly because the families died out or were no longer able to keep them securely, for that reason access is strictly restricted.”

“There must have been people responsible for taking care of the records?” Kakashi asked.

“Not for a long time.” Minato replied. “Anything of importance to the village should have been copied before it was put into storage. No one has needed to come down here except to occasional check the security and storage seals.”

“But someone has to have been accessing the records with how messed up they are.” Obito points out “and then there are all those gaps.” Next to him Rin nods firmly.

“Obito’s right sensei there’s something really strange going on.”

Minato puts up a hand and gestures for them to be quiet. “Just because things were badly organised doesn’t mean we have proof it was deliberate; the missing scrolls could be just misplaced.” He says softly and then before any of them can speak up adds. “I’m not saying it didn’t happen but if it did we are suggesting someone broke into the heart of Konoha’s administration and got any without tripping the seals or leaving anyone aware.”

Ok yeah that’s a big claim and one with some pretty dangerous implications.

“I can bring our concerns up with the Hokage and he can have an investigation but without proof or any leads to go on there isn’t much we can do.” Minato explains.

“But-” Obito protests.

“Even if there was proof they wouldn’t give it to us.” Kakashi interrupts bluntly. “Sensei’s right if someone did break in it’s a huge security breach, they wouldn’t assign genin to a mission like that.” 

That bristles even if Obtio is aware that it’s probably true, the Hokage would want ANBU or something like that not them but it stings because for days he’s been feeling like the answers he needs are right around the corner and then they just vanish over and over.

“So we’re just supposed to give up Bakashi? It that it!?” 

Kakashi scowls visibly beneath his mask and spits back. “Of course not idiot, but it’s a matter for ANBU and the Hokage what use is there for some recent academy graduates.”

“Leaving yourself out there are you.” Obito snaps at his silver haired teammate pushing up into Bakashi’s space. “This is my life we’re dealing with Bakashi! My family that started all of it you can’t just say it’s not our problem like that!”

“That’s not what I was saying!” They are both right up in each other’s faces right now fists clenched and Obito can feel all the days of tension and confusion and hurt building. He’ll regret this later but right now he’s not thinking about later or about anything other than how the wall that’s been standing in his way has started to look a lot like Kakashi and he would really like to knock it down.

“Stop it both of you!” Rin yells pushing them apart with a surprising amount of force.  “This is not helping.”

“But Rin you heard what he said” Obito protests loudly.

“Kakashi has a point Obito, he might not have worded it well but that doesn’t mean we should start fighting.” There’s a wave of hurt at that and it’s not helped by knowing Rin’s right, knowing Bakashi’s right and there’s nothing he can do except sit around searching through useless scrolls hoping to find something while better shinobi handle it.

Minato is getting involved now talking in his reassuring tone but Obito has no will to listen right now, he just wants to go home. If he stays here any longer he’ll either start crying or actually punch Kakashi the next time the bastard opens his mouth and Obito is to done right now to deal with the consequences of either.

“I think we all need something to take our minds of things so how about we all head straight to the training fields after lunch.” He hears Minato suggest, it’s not a bad idea but not what he wants right now so Obito forces a smile onto his face and says.

“Ok sensei. But I need to run back to my place first I, ah I forgot money for lunch.” The lie trips poorly of his tongue but he tries to keep it together and while Minato frowns he seems to realise this isn’t something Obito wants to talk about.

Rin is a different story. “Are you sure Obito? I can lend you some if you need anything.”

“It’s fine really I wouldn’t want to bother you.” He says in a rush, Rin goes to say something else clearly still not satisfied and Obito starts to back up while hurriedly adding. “I’ll just go get that and meet you there ok.”

Before any of them can move to stop him, he turns and bolts in the direction of the Uchiha district only slowing once he is out of their sight. He knows that probably wasn’t very smart after all he’s just delaying everything till later but he needed a way out, needed time.

It was just, he just felt so useless. All these questions about his family and Mokuton and all those hours spent wondering who he even is anymore and then to realise that he can’t get those answers. It didn’t help that Bakashi was being an ass about it. He turns of the main street automatically following the quickest path back to the Uchiha district.

Ok so maybe Kakashi wasn’t being an ass deliberately but he was still being rude about it, the bastard better not be excepting an apology next time they-.

The thoughts are cut of as he feels a sudden flicker of Chakra from behind him, barely there but enough to pull his attention from the deep thoughts it had been sinking into. Obito spins immediately and finds himself face to face with a man in an ANBU mask reaching for him. He dodges not sure why an ANBU is attacking him but realising that he doesn’t have time for questions.

He tries to dodge another grab but fails and the man manages to seize his right hand in a painful grip. Desperately he reaches out calling on that secret power in a blind panic and long grasping roots burst from the ground latching onto the ANBU and pulling him back enough that Obito can get free. Taking the opening he turns and runs back towards the main street hoping the presence of more people will scare them of or at least give him an advantage.

He gets only a few feet before a second man appears from the shadows, one hand grabbing on to the join between his shoulder and neck before he can react before there’s a sharp pain that sends everything reeling into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And things are getting moving. I'd been wondering for a while how to bring the action in and then this idea hit me, I've got so many plans for the next few chapters. 
> 
> In regards to future chapters I mentioned on my Fabric fic that I might have a little difficulty keeping up with posting schedules because I work in retail and as you can probably guess things are crazy right now. It doesn't help that the chapter for Dec would be falling on the week leading up to Christmas. I'll try my best to get things up on time but this is just a heads up in case. 
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone how has been enjoying this. It makes this so much more rewarding knowing others are having fun reading my stuff.


	7. Wildfire Suppression

Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts in wild land areas require different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure firefighting found in populated areas. Wildfire suppression also addresses the issues of the wildland-urban interface, where populated areas border with wild land areas.

 

* * *

 

 

Obito wakes to find himself lying on a stiff bed in a small cramped room. For a moment his foggy mind reels wondering where on earth he is before the memories come rushing back in and he shoves himself upright heart beating like a drum inside his chest as he takes in his surroundings.

 The walls are a plain grey colour without any decoration and aside from the bed there’s nothing else to look at (although looking at the size Obito isn’t sure you could fit much else in given the lack of space.) and a single metal door is set into the wall opposite the bed. As prison cells went it was kind of a disappointment, there weren’t even any bars or ominous lighting everything was as plain and dull as possible.

That probably wasn’t the thing to focus on when he had just been kidnapped from the centre of his village but it was better than the panic that was threating to overwhelm him. Who were those people? Was he even in Konoha anymore? Did his team know he was missing? Obito didn’t even know how long he had been unconscious for, they might not have even realised he’s missing yet.

The rush of confused emotions was threatening to overwhelm him and making it hard to think but Obito was a student of the Yellow Flash, a shinobi of Konoha he could handle this. He could handle this. He repeated that phrase like a mantra taking deep breaths until he felt calm enough to focus better on his surroundings.

 The momentary calm allows him to notice something that had slipped by in his earlier confusion. It was a strange muffled feeling that made him feel like he was surrounded by cotton wool, trying to focus on it just made his head spin the more he tried it. Frowning he tried reaching for his chakra but there was nothing, even the Mokuton that had been a constant hum under his skin was silent.

Clenching his fists, he tried again attacking the wall like it was just another jutsu he was struggling to learn and for a moment it seemed like it was working but then the world started spinning violently and before he knew it Obito found himself lying flat on his back breathing heavily and blinking up at the plain white ceiling feeling rather sick.  

Well he guessed that it made sense for his captors to take his chakra but it did make for a big problem. He had little chance of getting out of here without his chakra and there was no way Obito was just going to sit around and wait to see what happened.

Sitting up cross legged he tried to recall everything his sensei or Kushina had said about seals, he was still wearing the cloths he had before so if something was stopping him from using chakra then it had to be a seal of some kind. He’d dozed off part way through that lesson but he was sure he could work out something once he got a look at it. Now, where was it?

The room was clear so it had to be on him but Obito couldn’t see any marks, a memory of the fight with those two not-Anbu came back to him and one hand reached up to cover the spot on the back of his neck where the man’s hand had struck. He can’t feel anything different but Obito thinks that if he twits his head slightly and squints he can make out dark lines. It’s impossible to make out the pattern though which means he needs to find something reflective. That is easier said than done in this plain room, still there’s nothing to be gained if he doesn’t try. 

A through search of the room turns up nothing though and he’s soon slumping back onto the bed glaring a hole in the nearest wall like that could get him out of here. The closest thing to reflective in this room is the door and that has been dulled into uselessness. His thoughts are just turning to possible plans on how to polish it when there is a loud creak and the door is pushed open to show two masked shinobi in plain gear like that worn by his kidnappers.

Obito tenses on instinct and he mentally reminds himself to relax. He barely managed against these guys the last time and that was when he had chakra so if he wants any chance he needs to take them by surprise.

“This way.” One of them says voice bland and emotionless. The sheer lack of interest is irritating and he has to grit his teeth to avoid saying something stupid as he walks over to the doorway. As soon as he’s in reach the shorter of the two grabs his arms and starts to secure them in front of him with cuffs.

“Hey!” He shouts forgetting his attempt to play along as he’s pulled forwards. “What are you doing? Get of me!” He tries to pull back but the taller shinobi is there holding him in place as his friend fixes the metal cuffs in place and matter-of-factly says.

“We have orders.” Short guy says bluntly. “You will be restrained and brought with us, any attempts to escape will be punished.”

He bit his tongue to avoid shouting as he was pushed forwards and forcibly marched down the long corridor. Just like his cell everything was simple and plain with drab walls in white or grey, there were doors set intermittently along the hall and he cast a side look at his captors wondering if there were any others that had been taken like he was.

“Where are you taking me?” Obito asked eventually after a few minutes of silent walking, neither of his guards reacted and he scowled before shouting. “Hey! I asked where you were taking me?” There is a long silence broken only by the sound of his footsteps and Obito breaths in preparing to repeat himself only for the tall guy to interrupt him.

“Your shouting is pointless. You do not need to know where you are going.”

“Says you.” Obito retorts to annoyed to care about being witty. “I want to know where you creeps are taking me!” They refuse to give him an answer but Obito doesn’t need to wait long to get it as he is pulled right down a short corridor that ends suddenly in a closed door. The taller of his guards knocks on the door and a low smooth voice signals them to enter.

The room they walk into is as white and plain as anywhere else he has seen but it is much larger and filled with equipment that Obito doesn’t even recognise. The little he does recognise looks a lot like medical equipment and a sudden surge of panic freezes in his chest and brings him to a halt as he remembers all the scare stories told by the older clan members.

“Ah so this is the newest subject then?” The same smooth voice says and Obito snaps out of his panic and turns to see a thin man with long dark hair approach them. Obito was never great with history but he’s heard the tales of the Sannin and it doesn’t take much to recognise the figure of the Orochimaru staring down at him with a look that resembles a snake looking at a particularly tasty mouse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting closer to Christmas now so things are getting tougher at work but I've been managing to keep up with writing ok so hopefully I can keep these chapters rolling in without interruption. 
> 
> I don't have a lot to say about this chapter other than I did not plan that ending. I planed for Orochi to show his face soon but that was one of those things that just happened.


	8. Cutting

A plant cutting is a piece of a plant that is used in horticulture for vegetative (asexual) propagation. A piece of the stem or root of the source plant is placed in a suitable medium such as moist soil. If the conditions are suitable, the plant piece will begin to grow as a new plant independent of the parent, a process known as striking.

 

* * *

 

 

Unsurprisingly for a clan whose Bloodline Talent was vulnerable to theft, the Uchiha had many years of tradition and stories aimed at protecting that talent. Even now Uchiha children were brought up hearing stories of what outsiders would do to get their hands on an Uchiha’s eyes.

It was these thoughts that rushed through Obito’s mind as the Snake sannin observed him for a long moment with unblinking eyes before walking over to what looked like a hospital bed.

“Sit down.”

“What?” Orichimaru ignores him for a second busying himself in laying out a range of items that Obito doesn’t like the look of.

“Sit down, this will be a lot simpler if you cooperate, but restraint is an option.” Orichimaru’s voice is completely neutral as he speaks like he doesn’t really care which option Obito chooses as long as he doesn’t waste his time.

Obito doesn’t want to go anywhere near that bed or the creepy machinery around it but the two guards are still standing on either side of him and even with his chakra contained he can feel the heavy, harsh feel of the sannin’s power filling the air like a warning.

Slowly he forces himself to move and his steps seem to ring unnaturally loud through the large room. They haven’t unchained his hands so getting up onto the bed isn’t the easiest of tasks but Obito does his best to draw it out for as long as he can without trying the snake sannin’s patience. Eventually though he can’t prolong it any longer and he finds himself settled stiffly on the edge of the hard bed with his heart racing loudly in his chest.

He has no idea what to do next and is mostly running on adrenaline at this point so when Orichimaru pulls his bound arms forward, grip firm but not violent and begins wiping the inside of his arm with a strong-smelling cloth that brings up memories of the hospital and he can’t keep himself from flinching. The hand holding his wrist grip him tighter just of the point of pain and gold eyes flick up to his with a look of annoyance.

“If you are going to keep moving this will not be pleasant.” He says in a low voice. “I need you conscious for some of the later tests but there are a lot of ways around that if needed?” The words end in a lilting question but there’s no real option being given, besides Obito can’t find a way out of here if he’s restrained or whatever Orochimaru might do.  

 The cloth is put away and a long needle inserted into the area. The pricking feeling makes him want to tense again but Obito forces himself to relax in case he tests the snake sannin’s patience anymore.

Several vials of his blood are drawn before Orochimaru decides he is done withdrawing the needle and setting it aside before reaching for another tool that Obito doesn’t recognise. Strangely the following tests turn out to be boring and several minutes go by as the older man runs through a list of standard hospital checks. The difference with what he had been expecting is more of putting than anything else since he entered this room and it leaves Obito with a strange of centre feeling that’s a lot like vertigo without the spinning feeling.

The sannin clearly notices and seems to be enjoying Obito’s confusion and there’s a look of cruel amusement flitting across his face.

“Not what you expected little Uchiha?” the snake sannin mocks with a smirk as he steps back to note down some new results.

He hasn’t tried asking questions yet, to worried about setting of the very powerful ninja in front of him, but he’s been given an opening and if his captor is in a good mood then he’ll surly be more lenient? Obito decides it’s worth a try to get some answers and says. “What are you doing?

“Gathering information.” Is the simple reply.

“On what?” He asks trying again once it becomes clear that he isn’t getting any more information, instead he just gets a mocking look from the sannin and a soft,

“You cannot guess?”. The tone is derisive and makes Obito bristle instinctively but he bites his tongue and reminds himself that he can’t afford to be provoked if he plans to get out of here and find his team. Orochimaru raises an eyebrow at his lack of response before dismissing him entirely and turning back to his work.

There’s a short pause as Orochimaru finishes writing and puts down his clipboard with a small click before the man is walking back over to him. “You have a very rare gift little Uchiha, I wish to study it and to do that I need information to work with. As long as you behave I won’t need to take extreme action to get what I want.” The words aren’t particularly threatening, but they don’t need to be with who is saying them.

 Obito wonders how long it will last, what happens if Orochimaru runs into some difficulty? Mokuton isn’t an ability that can just be passed on, after all none of the Shodaime’s children had it and Obito still has no clue why he does. If that is what the snake sannin is after, then what they need from him must be more complicated than taking a few vials of blood.

The only certainty here is that they won’t try to kill him, at least not until they get what they want which means he needs to play along and try to get out quickly.

 Realising he has been quiet for a while Obito hurriedly tries to think up a suitable response that won’t see him get into even worse trouble. His attempt is interrupted though as the door to the lab slides open with a soft noise and another unknown shinobi with long hair enters a small stack of folders in her hands.

“What is it?” Orochimaru asks giving the new arrival an annoyed expression.

“I’m sorry for the interruption sir but there’s been a change in one of the experiments, I was asked to bring these to you immediately.”

Orochimaru still looks less than happy at the interruption but walks over and begins flicking through the various papers. With a start Obito realises that the view of his original guards is being partially blocked by the new arrival and, for the first time since he got here no one is paying any attention to him.

There’s still no way of getting out of this room with all the enemy’s surrounding him but, he thinks as his eyes settle on the array of medical items on the nearby table, they’ll probably take him back to his cell after this. All he needs is something small and shiny, easily overlooked and forgotten. Much of what he sees is too bulky or oddly shaped and he dismisses those immediately before Obito spots a thin stick of metal with a wider flat end like a small mirror, it’s slightly curved but not enough to be noticeable and the best shot he has.

 Cautiously Obito glances over but whatever was in the files must have been important because the snake sannin has stilled and is now flicking through the pages with an intense look occasionally asking quiet questions to the long-haired woman in front of him.

He doesn’t know how long that will last so he needs to be quick, trying not to obviously move the rest of his body he quickly reaches out his bound hands and attempts to grasp it. It doesn’t take long but every second feels stretched out unbearably as Obito carefully grasp the handle and slips it up the sleeve thankful beyond belief that they hadn’t bothered to change his clothing.

It’s all just in time as Orochimaru snaps the folder he was reading shut just as Obito is trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.

“It looks like I have to do everything myself.” He says visibly annoyed as he turns to the silent guards. “Take the subject back to his quarters, I’ll have to finish this later.” The guards agree immediately and Obito quickly slides down from the bed before he is pulled along out of the room and down the hallway, metal door clanging shut behind him and the stolen item burning a line against his arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a bit of a slow chapter but I needed to spend some time introducing Oro and before I knew it time had gotten away with me. That is also why this is up a bit later than normal. That shouldn't be an issue from here though as work is going to be getting a bit lighter following Christmas. 
> 
> On that note a happy Christmas to anyone who follows it.


	9. Propagule

In biology, a propagule is any material that functions in propagating an organism to the next stage in its life cycle, such as by dispersal. The propagule is usually distinct in form from the parent organism. Propagules are produced by plants (in the form of seeds or spores), fungi (in the form of spores), and bacteria (for example endospores or microbial cysts).

 

* * *

 

 Considering that all Obito has done since he woke up is walk around he is surprisingly tired by the time they reach his cell again, tension and the earlier adrenaline taking their toll and making him wish he could just lie down and forget all of this. Every time he moves he can feel the cool chill of metal from the instrument he stole pressed against his wrist and feels another flash of worry that one of the guards will notice.

The taller of the two steps forward as they reach his cell, hands making quick moves before he’s pulling out a key to unlock the door and Obito can at least be glad that there doesn’t appear to be any seals marking the door or walls. Anything that might make an escape easier is welcome.

The door swings open and the other one of his guards kneels to unlock the cuffs around his wrists. Obito had almost forgotten they might do that and has a moment of silent panic at the thought that the shinobi in front of him might notice what he is hiding. A few long seconds pass and he thinks that he might have gotten away with it when the guard doesn’t react.  

Then a pale hand grabs onto his wrist right over the spot where the thin mirror rested, Obito can feel the metal digging into his skin and his heart stops dead in his chest as his wide eyes meet the expressionless ones in front of him. The man doesn’t take his eyes of Obito as he tilts his head towards his partner.

 “He’s hiding so-” The sound of a siren interrupts him before he can finish and all three of them pause to register the noise, a loud sound like a muffled explosion follows and Obito thinks it sounds close by.

Both of his guards seem to recognise what that sound means instantly and look at each other sharing a short and silent conversation before the taller one nods and passes over the keys and turns running off in the direction of the noise. The one in front of Obito stands and tries to pull him in the direction of his cell but Obito digs in throwing his full weight back against the man’s grip. This is possibly the only chance he is going to get to gain an advantage against these guys without his chakra and he is going to take that.

His attempts to resist the short man’s grip are predictably futile, height and weight working against him as he is pulled steadily in the direction of the door way. But that’s not surprising, Obito wasn’t expecting to force his way out and stops struggling as soon as he notices that the shinobi is right in front of the entrance. Without his resistance his body flies forward straight into the short man with enough weight to send him back a few steps.

Just for good measure he lets the small instrument up his sleeve slip down into his hand as he falls forward, it’s blunt but weight and speed make up the difference and it punctures low into the man’s side in an unprotected area.

 The man lets out a short sharp shout in surprise and takes one more step back crossing the threshold of the doorway before falling in a sprawl. Obito seizes the moment wrenching himself free from the loosened grip and grabbing for the keys before scrambling for the door, the older shinobi quickly recovers and, realising what he’s doing, lunges forwards but Obito’s just that bit quicker and the heavy door swings shut on the man’s arm.

There is a sick crunch and this time the other can’t contain his response letting out a loud cry of pain, it makes Obito wince, but he can’t stop to think about what he’s doing and throws himself back against the door as the injured shinobi pulls back his mangled arm, the door clicks shut and Obito immediately turns and runs as fast as he can down the hall.

A corridor branches of to his right and Obito throws himself around it eyes searching desperately for a way out or a place to hide. He can’t hear anyone pursuing him and hopes desperately that the door was self-locking, but he can’t take the risk. He takes several more turns trying not to follow a pattern while still trying to find an escape form the empty exposed halls.

After several minutes he finally comes to a stop panting in exhaustion and leans back against the wall. He shouldn’t be this out of breath so soon but in his panic, he hadn’t thought about pacing himself and without chakra to sustain him he’s feeling worn out.

The sound of footsteps from up ahead spends a chill of fear down his spine and Obito desperately looks around for somewhere to hide.

Looking around his eyes settle on a door a few feet down on the opposite wall. Based on the sign it’s a store room of some kind and Obito decides that it’s better than nothing. With little time to spare he throws himself at the door not even taking a second to look around before pushing it shut behind him with a soft but still frighteningly loud click.

He holds his breath in the dark room for what seems like hours as the footsteps get louder and closer to his hiding place. As they pass by he can hear snatches of quiet conversation although nothing he can make much sense of until they get closer and he hears one of them say in a casual tone.

“What about the Uchiha they brought in yesterday?” Obito is already so tense he must look like a statue, but he can imagine that any relaxed part of him that was left would have stiffened at that and he strains his ears to try and hear more.

“Taken to Commander Orochimaru for testing earlier, the failure in lab 5 delayed some work but it should restart soon. Lord Danzo and the commander believe that the subject will be key to solving Project Shodaime.”

They pass out of earshot before he can make out much else but Obito has made out enough to have him worried. It’s good to know that he his escape hasn’t been discovered yet but from what those people said he doesn’t have much longer before they realise he’s gone. He needs to find a way out soon or he is unlikely to have another chance.

With that in mind he starts to search the room, a mirror is a top priority or something that can help him figure out the seal that his still blocking his chakra. After that he needs a map and something that can work as a weapon. He can do this reminds himself, he can do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been waiting to post this scene for a while now, the previous chapter was a slow one but now I can start to pick up the pace again. I don't know about you lovely readers but it's more fun to write when there stuff going on. Hopefully the escape didn't feel to contrived, I tried to make it feel logical but since Obito is very much outclassed here I had to find a way to twist the odds in his favour. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's left me comments it's always nice to here that other people are enjoying what I'm coming up with.


	10. Spontaneous combustion

Spontaneous combustion or spontaneous ignition is a type of combustion which occurs when a substance with a relatively low ignition temperature (hay, straw, peat, etc.) begins to release heat. This may occur in several ways, either by oxidation in the presence of moisture and air, or bacterial fermentation, which generates heat, the heat is unable to escape, and the temperature of the material rises. The temperature of the material rises above its ignition point leading to combustion.

 

* * *

 

The first thing he does is to unlock the cuffs around his wrists. The angle is awkward, and it ends up taking a few tries but Obito soon has them of and drops them to the side. He rubs his wrists in relief, they weren’t on for long, but it was still uncomfortable to be restrained like that.  

With his hands now free Obito starts searching for a light, the room he has found himself in is nearly pitch black and if he’s going to find anything in here that needs to change. There is a lot of cautious fumbling as he tries to find his way around without knocking anything over but eventually he finds a light switch and turns it on blinking rapidly as his eyes adjust.

The room is bigger than he thought it might be and looks like some type of mix of a storage cupboard and one of the filing rooms in the Hokage tower with large metal cabinets lining one wall. Obito’s sure there must be something useful in there but he’s really getting tired of having his hands bound so me makes for the other shelves searching through draws and boxes for anything with an edge.

The first few he checks contain an organised mix of items ranging from empty scrolls and bottles of ink to empty beakers and jars and Obito shoves those aside quickly as he opens box after box. Eventually he opens one to see the shine of something metallic and there’s a bubble of relief and satisfaction in his chest that is rapidly doused when he gets a better look and realises that it’s nothing but tongs and weirdly shaped but definitely blunt science tools.  

It’s a frustration he doesn’t need and Obito shoves the box back onto the shelf with a huff of frustration. Or rather he attempts to, as he pushes it away something un-see able seems to snag and the box tilts but doesn’t move. Scowling Obito attempts to give it another push putting more of his weight into it, this time the box moves back but whatever it was caught on must shift as well because several other items shift along the length of the shelf and Obito can only watch in cold, sinking horror as one of the containers full of glass goes tumbling of the shelf and crashes to the floor in a loud smash.

For the longest moment he can’t even move frozen in place staring wide eyed at the mess of broken glass now spilling across the floor before he snaps his head up to the door. Obito half expects someone to burst in any second but as moments pass there is no noise from outside and his body begins to relax enough to take in the damage.

Most of the glass is in large chunks but it’s scattered in a wide arc across the floor and enough is in small fragments that Obito can tell from a glance that there’s no way he can clean all of this up. Still he can still try to cover up his tracks a bit so with careful movements he scoops up the box and starts lifting the biggest pieces. He’s just picking up one of the medium sized shards when the idea hits him and Obito stops considering the shape. It was roughly triangular with too many sharp edges for him to grasp it properly but with a bit of cloth it should be more than sharp enough to work as a makeshift weapon.

Tearing at the bottom of his shirt Obito manages to pull of a decent strip of blue fabric which he wraps tightly around one side of the shard, he has a little difficulty tying it of securely but within a few minutes he’s done and inspecting his handiwork. It won’t beat a real weapon but it’s better than nothing and with one task down he can move on to the next one.

Feeling a lot calmer now that that’s settled he crosses the room and stops in front of the line of metal cabinets consideringly. It’s probably too easy to assume that these guys left a map of their base lying around in an unguarded room but there was probably something useful, and after all the academy teachers did like to stress that any information was valuable, Obito never really paid much attention the old guy but Minato had said similar things as well, so it was probably important.

With that in mind he opens the nearest draw and starts flicking through the files inside. Obito scowls when he realises that a lot of the documents are either coded or couched in so much scientific jargon that he can’t understand, he is really starting to get sick of this, still some of them look important even if he doesn’t really get what they are trying to say, and he puts those ones to the side. Once again, he curses the fact that he doesn’t have the sharigan because that would make remembering this stuff so much easier.

He’s focussed on trying to puzzle out a complicated paper that he thinks is talking about rates of decomposition, when something causes him to jerk upright. For a moment he can’t hear anything but then there is a soft sound and he realises with horror that there’s someone just outside and throws himself across the room to hit the light switch and press himself tight against the wall just as the door starts to open.

The man who enters is balancing a large box and is dressed more like a hospital orderly than a shinobi which might explain why he doesn’t immediately notice the mess Obito had made of the room. When he does it’s obvious, the man straightens eyes focusing on the scattered glass lying across the floor before darting over the room.  

The second he starts to turn Obito moves gripping his makeshift weapon tight and lunging, the man registers his presence and immediately drops his box to grab for a kunai. He’s not quite quick enough to stop Obito from getting a blow in but it cuts across the man’s arm rather than it’s intended target.

 Obito doges a counter attack using his smaller frame to get in low, this fight isn’t in his favour but it’s not as bad as it could be. He can already tell that this guy isn’t as skilled as the shinobi who attacked him or Kakashi and Minato, Obito is nowhere near as good as them but he can at least keep up in spars when he stops being clumsy. Of course, that is the moment when he trips on the fallen box and tumbles forward with a yelp of surprise, his opponent is just as surprised and doesn’t manage to react in time causing them both to tumble back onto the floor in a mess of limbs and a loud crack.

Obito manages to land on top of the man but the shock still manages to wind him, when he shakes of the fall he realises that the man beneath him isn’t moving. Scrambling to his feet he stares down at scene in front of him with shock.

There’s blood pooling around the man’s head and Obito realises that the crack must have been the sound of his opponent’s head hitting the floor. That’s not the only source of blood though, when they fell they must have landed right on top of the broken glass. Looking down at himself Obito can see a few small slivers stuck to his legs, the biggest thing though his are his hands, a small slice runs across his palm, but they are covered in vivid red and it only takes one look back at the body to see why. A single cloth-wrapped shard off glass is embedded deep in his side and Obito recalls how his hands instinctively went out to brace himself as he fell.

It’s not a killing blow, none of it is, Obito can still see the rise and fall of the man’s chest that proves he still lives even if it’s not for very long. Obito’s best friend is a medic he knows all the ways a head wound can be dangerous and that’s not even considering how much those other wounds are bleeding.

The whole thing is overwhelming and Obito doesn’t know what to do, he’s never been in this situation before and his natural desire to help wars with the knowledge that this guy is his enemy. A better ninja would finish the man of and leave but Obito just stands there looking at all that red and feeling bile rise is the back of his throat.

Pressure builds in his head and he can feel the world start to spin around him, he stumbles back against the wall and retches closing his eyes in an effort to block out the overwhelming sensations, but it doesn’t help and all he can see in endless red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm interested to see what people think of the end to this chapter, it seriously was just supposed to be a quick few paragraphs to set up some other stuff and then before I knew it things expanded. The ending was also one of those in the moment things but it worked so well with what I was already going for. By this point Obi's been through so much he was more than due for a breakdown. 
> 
> One final note, I haven't had much time to properly check this before uploading so there might be a few more errors than normal. Hopefully not but I know who I am with things. I hope to go through it better later tomorrow so I'll make any minor changes and removes this part then.


	11. Fire Triangle

The fire triangles or combustion triangles or ″fire diamond″ are simple models for understanding the necessary ingredients for most fires.

The triangle illustrates the three elements a fire needs to ignite: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent (usually oxygen). A fire naturally occurs when the elements are present and combined in the right mixture, meaning that fire is actually an event rather than a thing.

 

* * *

 

 

Even if Obito had the ability to explain what he was feeling he probably wouldn’t be able to find the words. Everything is shifting around him and his body feels like it’s burning up even as his skin becomes cold and clammy with sweat. He might have thrown up but it’s hard to even keep track of where is arms are right now and the panic that that causes only make things worse. Obito fights that down focussing on his breathing and trying to block out the extra sensation, weather the storm until it’s done.

It’s starting to work, it’s slow and he still feels overwhelmed but there’s a strange sensation almost like something cracking and the pressure noticeably starts to ease. There’s one last lurch as something breaks and everything resettles in the aftermath.

It’s an odd feeling after the overwhelming blizzard he just walked though and Obito takes a couple of long shaky breaths to centre himself before he opens his eyes. The room is just like it was before his panic attack, perfectly still in defiance of the violent storm of his emotions. The shelves loom over him from where he is hunched up on the floor and shards of glass spread out on the floor before him mixed with the red of blood, both his and the unknown man’s.

The reminder of the injured man causes him to start and he snaps his head over to where the shinobi is still sprawled on the ground. Carefully Obito pulls himself up and with shaky limbs stumbles his way over to the man’s side. Up close he can see the subtle movements that show his opponent isn’t dead and Obito can’t help but be relived, maybe that’s foolish for a shinobi but Obito has never been the model of a good shinobi.

A strange glow catches his attention and with a frown Obito realises that it’s gathered around the man’s wounds barely there but real. Carefully he pulls aside the battered coat and peers down, he can’t be sure, but it looks like the wound is starting to heal. Obito has heard of people having healing bloodlines but never one which glows, and he blinks at the sight in confusion. What in the sage’s name is going on now?

He groans in a mix of tiredness and frustration rubbing at his eyes and only now realising how tired and heavy they feel. His hands come back tacky with blood and Obito freezes in horror, he knows that hand wasn’t like that before and the memory of pain throbbing behind his eyes comes back to him.

With a speed not even Minato could match Obito grabs for a nearby piece of glass and angles it trying to get a look at his eyes in the reflection. Red looks back at him.

It takes a few seconds to register that but then the weight of what he’s seeing hits him and Obito almost drops the glass in shock at the sight of the Sharingan spinning quietly at odds with the trails of bloody tears running down his cheeks.

But how? Cautiously Obito reaches for his chakra but nothing remains of the barrier, his chakra is sluggish and slow to respond but it’s _there._ Somehow Obito must have triggered the Sharingan and the dojutsu’s attempt to manifest tore a hole in the seal. No wonder he was so sick, there’s probably more to it than that but Obito will leave that to his sensei, right now he is just happy that he has his chakra back and with it a greater chance of finding his way out of here.

There’s a small sound, barely audible from the body next to him which breaks him out of his daze. Obito breathes a sigh of relief when he sees that the man’s eyes are still closed, however his wounds are now obviously smaller which means he can’t afford to waste time here. Carefully he searches through the white coat the man is wearing, most of it is useless but there’s a couple of kunai which will be useful and a small white key card that he tucks into his pocket.

Standing up he turns to leave but almost trips, thankfully this is something Obito is used to, so he regains his balance and looks down at what almost sent him flying. It’s the box that the man was carrying, papers have fallen out to scatter across the floor in a wide arc that just touches the edge of the mess of blood and glass.

With a sudden drive of curiosity Obito picks up a few of the closest flicking through them, there are lists of number and statistics that almost make him want to drop the folder straight away but then his eyes land on two words at the top. Project Shodaime.

That was what those guards had mentioned, this was what they wanted him for. Obito peered closer at the paper, most of it was still jargon that he didn’t really understand but the stuff he could put together didn’t sound good. There were lists of ‘failure rates’ on the second page and he did not need to be a genius like Kakashi to realise that those were worryingly high. Not as much as when he realised what these experiments were for however.

‘Subject’s body is beginning to show signs of rejecting Mokuton implant. Will try to stabilise the subject and continue monitoring closely.’

Mokuton. Obito had suspected that that was what they wanted from him, why else would anyone kidnap him, an unimportant Uchiha who hadn’t even unlocked Sharingan at the time. This is more than he could have imagined though and Obito feels faintly sick again, sick and angry at Orochimaru and whoever’s helping him.  

It’s that anger which finally motivates him to move, and he gathers up whatever he can easily carry and memorises the rest before carefully pushing open the door and stepping out into the hall.

He still doesn’t know a way out of here but he’s not working completely blind, the folder he had looked through had mentioned a Lab number and which section it was in. He’s still fumbling a bit but following the numbers and signs posted on doors is easier than stumbling around looking for a way out and maybe he can find some better directions when he gets there. Also, Obito can’t deny that he wants to know what is going on here.

There are more guards walking the hallways than before and he has to stop several times to hide as pairs of shinobi hurry past but eventually he reaches the door he was looking for. He can’t sense anyone inside so with fumbling hands he swipes the card he had taken and cracks the door open, so that he can peer inside. It looks normal with clean tables covered with items he doesn’t know the name of and the only sound is the hum of machinery. Reassured Obito slips into the room shutting the door behind him before turning and stopping frozen in shock. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the seal is gone. Thank god because trying to write around that and still have Obito realistically hold is own was a pain. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone that is still following this because I'm still enjoying this fic a lot and it's nice knowing you guys do to.


	12. Geoxyle

A geoxyle is a plant in which an enlarged, woody structure occurs beneath the surface of the ground. Such plants have developed independently in various plant lineages, mostly evolving in the Pliocene and subsequently diverging within the last two million years. In contrast to their close relatives, these plants have developed in areas with both high rainfall and a high frequency of fires. They are sometimes known as underground trees, and the areas where they grow as underground forest.

 

* * *

 

 

While most of the laboratory looks outwardly normal the rest of it is decidedly not, instead Obito finds himself staring at an array of tubes and wires surrounding several large cylinders. With careful footsteps he creeps over to the nearest one and peers in. It’s empty but looks like it has been in use, what it has been used for Obito doesn’t fully understand but he does know one thing, this was made to hold a person.

The thought sends a chill down his spine as he easily recalls all the numbers, all the _subjects_ mentioned in the report he had stolen. It doesn’t take must imagination to realise what these were used for and Obito has to turn away before he lets that thought go any further. It’s not just out of horror although there is certainly plenty of that but there is also a fierce flicker of anger and fury that burns in his chest when he thinks of what these people have been getting away with and in its own way it’s almost as scary.

The next tube in line is just as empty as the previous one as is the next five after that which is kind of odd considering the amount of effort that has been put into this. Everything is still new as well, it’s almost as though everything has been cleaned out and a sharp-edged thought lodges itself in his chest, was this what they wanted him for? Was this cleaned up ready for another attempt with someone who already had Mokuton? It’s a nasty thought but one that makes all too much sense with everything he’s been able to find.

Deciding that’s enough macabre thoughts for now Obito is just about to move on and see of the rest of the room has anything of interest when a small spike of _something_ makes him pause. It’s familiar in a way that he can’t quite explain and Obito frowns trying to figure out where that feeling came from. He can feel chakra instinctively feed into his eyes as his new Sharingan activate, the rush of extra sensation is unexpected but once he moves past that it’s easy to see what brushed against his senses, leaking out from one of the cylinders is a tightly contained flare of chakra.

He doesn’t even realise he’s moved until Obito finds himself standing in front of the source. He lets the power fade from his eyes and taking a deep breath leans in to take a look. It’s a boy not far off his own age although Obito can’t make out much in the way of details from this angle.

He pulls back from the glass mind spinning in confusion. All the other containers had been cleared out so why had they left this one? Nothing Obito had found so far had any reference to this. All that is quickly overridden though by one determined thought ‘I have to get them out’. He doesn’t understand everything that’s going on here but Obito knows enough to say that he cannot just leave this person stuck in there to face whatever fate has in store. He’d never be able to face his team again if he did and what sort of future Hokage would let this happen and do nothing?

Now if only he knew where to start with taking this thing apart, should he disconnect the tubes going into the pod or would that make things worse? They might be what was keeping the person alive in there after all? Obito considers it for a long moment but it still makes little sense and he can’t risk someone finding him here. Fumbling with the buttons and dials on the front does nothing and Obito rocks on his heals with a huff of frustration, cracking it open and hoping for the best it is then.

Searching the room, he manages to find a metal thing that looks long enough to work as a wedge and jams that into a grove that Obito thinks is meant to be a handle and throws his weight behind it. There’s the sound of metal scraping over metal but the leaver just slips out of place. He picks it back up with a huff of frustration and tries again, it slips but this time it’s accompanied by frantic beeping from the displays on the machine. Feeling more confident Obito tries one more time using chakra to boost his strength as much as possible. Water starts to leak out and the sounds from the display become even more frantic until the door suddenly opens with a force that cause Obito to fall backwards, landing in a heap on the floor.

With a groan of pain, he lifts himself up of the floor pulling a face at his now soaked cloths, at least it worked Obito thinks looking over at the other boy lying in a tangle of wires and tubes. A quick check confirms the that he’s breathing normally and there doesn’t appear to be any injuries which is a relief, Obito would have hated to have hurt the boy by accident.

There’s a small groan from the small body before brown eyes blearily flicker open, they seem to settle on his face but Obito doesn’t think the boy is actually aware of much right now. Still just in case he beams down at the other boy.

“Hey, it’s ok. My name’s Obito, I’m going to get you out of there.” The boy doesn’t respond just blinks up at Obito like he’s trying to wake himself from a heavy sleep.

“And how do you intend to do that?” A low voice asks and Obito freezes his blood turning to ice in his veins as he turns to see the snake sannin standing in the doorway a smirk twisting the corners of his lips into a look of cruel mockery.

Carefully Obito stands positioning himself just in front of the barely conscious boy, he doesn’t know what he could do against someone like Orochimaru, but he has to try. He takes a wary stance and feels his new Sharingan spin into life, that seems to surprise the snake whose expression turns predatory and eager.

“Well I can’t say I expected this.” He murmurs taking two lazy steps forward and Obito has to fight the urge to step back from the wave of killing intent. “Mokuton and a Sharingan how fascinating looks like I won’t be killing just yet.”

With fumbling hands Obito pulls out a kunai, the older man laughs at the sight advancing on him quickly and Obito reaches out searching for any trace of plant life that he could use to hold Orochimaru back. It’s no good everything around them is metal and all Obito can do is dodge trusting the Sharingan’s ability to read body language in order to barely avoid a paralyzing blow.

Orochimaru instant put out and lunges again his body moving in a way that Obito is not sure bodies should move only for the snake to pull back as a kunai flies narrowly past where his face would have been landing just behind Obito.

“Get away from him!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You will not believe how much I've been waiting to post this chapter. Things are going to start getting fun from here. 
> 
> I was just going to leave this of with Oro arriving but there have been enough 'Oh No' cliffhangers these last few chapters so I thought it was about time to change it up a bit.


	13. Jasmonates

Jasmonates (JAs) are lipid-based hormones that were originally isolated from jasmine oil.  JAs are especially important in the plant response to attack from herbivores and necrotrophic pathogens. The most active JA in plants is jasmonic acid. Jasmonic acid can be further metabolized into methyl-JA, which is a volatile organic compound. This unusual property means that methyl-JA can act as an airborne signal to communicate herbivore attack to other distant leaves within one plant and even as a signal to neighboring plants.

 

* * *

 

 

The shout echoes loudly through the room and Obito and Orochimaru both pause as two small figures standing in the doorway. “Rin, Kakashi!” He exclaims in shock almost unable to believe that his teammates are really there even with his new Sharingan telling him that this is real.

Kakashi pulls out another Kunai silent and fixed on the sannin but Rin smiles at him relief shining in her eyes. “Obito, are you ok?”

Obito is sure he must have a similar look as he smiles back. “I’m ok.”

There’s a soft chuckle from Orochimaru as the snake sannin eyes them with amusement “As sweet as this is surely you don’t think two more children can stop me?”

“Surely you don’t think we came alone.” Kakashi responds and Obito really has to wonder if it is impossible for the bastard not to provoke people. Orochimaru hisses in response body tensing barely a fraction before the snake sannin springs at him body elongating in a way that is just plain freaky and Obito knows with a sinking feeling that he can’t dodge this one.

Just as he’s bracing himself for pain there’s a strange sensation almost like someone insistently tugging at him and Obito’s eyes widen as the kunai that should have stabbed into his side slid through his body harmlessly.  There’s an offbeat moment when he and the snake sannin stare in surprise and then Orochimaru lunges again with a hiss, he almost dodges this one but the kunai still ends up cutting along his arm, or at least it _should_ have cut. Obito doesn’t know what is going on but he’s not going to question it since it’s saving him from an increasingly angry sannin.

Orochimaru is so caught up in his anger that he almost doesn’t dodge a in time as a wind jutsu tears a gash in the floor where the snake had previously been standing. This is followed immediately by a handful of shuriken driven Orochimaru back a few steps as Minato steps out in front of him a cold fierce look in his eyes. One of his three-pronged kunai is in his hand and Obito realises with a start that it was the one Kakashi had thrown.

Orochimaru doesn’t waste time being surprised and quickly changes focus lashing out at their sensei with blindly fast strikes that Obito is sure would be lethal to anyone who wasn’t as quick as their sensei.

“Obito.” Rin’s voice breaks his train of thought and he turns to see that her standing next to him Kakashi shadowing just behind.

“Come on we need to get out of here while sensei holds him of.”

Obito nods in understanding “Right, ok but we can’t leave him here.” He says gesturing down at the boy who has slipped back into unconsciousness.   

“Trust you to try and rescue someone when you’re the one kidnaped.” Kakashi huffs even as he slips around Obito and helps him lift the strange boys weight.

Obito still bristles of course “Hey what was I supposed to do leave him?”

“Of course not.” Rin says calmly. “But can we please get out of here now-” the words cut off with a squeak as she darts back avoiding what would have been a nasty hit from a senbon.

“I think not.” Orochimaru hisses “You have something of mine there and I have worked very hard on it.”

“He’s a person!” Obito shouts in outrage instinctively taking a step forward.

“Obito get back.” Minato shouts and Obito scrambles back just avoiding the second senbon. More follow but are quickly deflected by Minato who positions himself between them and the sannin.   

“Worried for your charges Namikaze?” Orochimaru mocks and a dark look crosses his face “You can’t protect them from everything you know.”

Minato doesn’t answer but the look on his face is clear enough, Obito can’t ever remember his sensei looking so cold or angry and it’s very easy to remember the reputation he has outside of the village. Orochimaru doesn’t seem concerned though lazily circling round the edges of the room, a smirk twisting at his lips.

“The Hokage knows of your actions at his request I will give you one chance to surrender now and plead your case to him otherwise I will be forced to take you down as a traitor to the village.”

Orochimaru snarls his sharp features twisting into something animalistic. “A traitor! I do not remember my dear teammates getting such a label and yet where are they?” 

“They never experimented on children.”

“But they’ve probably killed them.” Orochimaru counters coming to a slow stop on the far side of the room. “A battlefield is a busy place after all, I just make greater use of the unwanted. Of course you’re Jiriya’s pupil so foolish optimism is to be expected.” He smirks “I will have to refuse both of your generous offers.”

There’s a flicker of movement that Obito can’t make out from his position but Minato apparently can as the blond’s eyes widen and he hurriedly shoves them back and throws up a barrier just as the other side of the room explodes, dust and debris flying through that air and overturning everything in its way. The barrier keeps them from being hit but it’s still a shock and Obito can feel Rin latch on hard to his arm out of shock.

It doesn’t last long but by the time the barrier drops the room looks completely destroyed with some equipment smashed beyond recognition. More noticeable though is the large hole in the far wall and the complete lack of the snake sannin.

“He’s gone.”

“And he’s destroyed what he could on the way out.” Minato notes with a small frown “We need to get back to Hokage and have a tracking team sent out immediately.” He turns and gives them a careful once over “And it looks like a trip to the hospital will be needed.”

“I’m fine sensei.” Obito says quickly “You should get on with going after him.”

“And what about that poor boy draped over Kakashi?” Minato responds with a small smile pulling them all closer. “Besides I can get us there quickly as long as you all hold on tight.” 

There was no reason to argue with that so they all grabbed on tight as their sensei activated his Hiraishin and then they were disappearing in a flash of light and reappearing in the familiar space of the Hokage’s office with the said Hokage and a number of jounin looking at them.

“Minato.” The Hokage says as they gather their bearings. “Report, what happened.”

“We found Obito and the other boy in the base. Orochimaru was there but he managed to escape.” The Hokage’s expression darkens at that and he sighs deeply.

“I had hoped to be wrong about that.” He murmurs his age apparent in how tired he sounds. The moment only lasts a second and then he is giving orders to the assembled shinobi who quickly disperse.

Despite himself Obito is starting to feel the effects of being on a constant adrenaline rush and he’s struggling to keep focus when the Hokage turns back to them.

“Thank you for your work but I’m sure you must be eager to get your team to the hospital. We’ll talk later, despite my former student’s numerous skills he could not have run an operation like this on his own.”

The words cut through the heavy fog starting to cloud Obito’s thoughts. “Danzo.” Everyone in the room turns to stare at him. “Um, I heard two of the shinobi mention someone called Danzo was leading the project.”

If anything, the frown on the Hokage’s face grows even deeper at that. “You are sure of that my boy.” He asks voice serious and Obito nods certain that he would likely stutter over any response. The Hokage is quiet for a moment before he addresses their sensei again.

“Take your students to the hospital and return as soon as you can, it seems we still have much to do.” Minato nods bowing to the Hokage before shepherding them out of the office. That seems to drain the last of Obito’s energy and he can’t remember much between then and falling asleep in a hospital bed all the exhaustion of the last day draining away from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this it's done, well not done but you know what I mean. :) Obito can finally catch a much deserved break before we move into the fallout of Root. 
> 
> On a side note coming up with these titles is hard so if anyone has any definitions that they think would make a good title I would be enternaly grateful. You can chat with me here or on my tumblr thegreattribbleempire.tumblr.com.


	14. Land Rehabilitation

Land rehabilitation is the process of returning the land in a given area to some degree of its former state, after some process (industry, natural disasters, etc.) has resulted in its damage. Many projects and developments will result in the land becoming degraded, for example mining, farming and forestry.

 

* * *

 

 

Obito wakes slowly, eyes flickering open as his mind blearily tries to sort through where he is and what’s going on. The memory of his kidnap and the rescue sink into his mind suddenly and he quickly pushes himself upright ignoring the protests of his aching body.

He’s in a hospital room rather than a cell this time and through a nearby window Obito can see Konoha’s familiar skyline. That gets him to relax a bit and Obito flops back onto the bed wincing at stiff and sore he feels. He didn’t remember taking much damaged in his escape attempt, but he must have overlooked something while he was running high on adrenaline.

Taking in the small room he notices the presence of another bed blocked from site by privacy curtains. Obito wonders if it’s that boy he found, the memory of that weak form suspended in the pod causes a flare of anger and Obito doesn’t like hating people but right now he hates Orochimaru and anyone who could do something like that to another person.

There’s a soft click as the door slides open and Obito looks over with a start. Kakashi is standing in the doorway holding a small potted plant, he looks surprised for a moment at seeing Obito awake, awkward in a way Obito isn’t used to seeing him. It only lasts a moment and then Kakashi recovers and pulls on a mask of indifference.

“Oh, you’re awake at last.” Kakashi drawls in a bored voice but Obito knows what he saw and just grins.

“Shut up Bakashi, I know you missed me.” He says with a grin. “You came to visit me after all. You even brought a gift.”

His teammate scowls visibly behind his mask. “I’m here because Rin had to go home, and it’s polite to bring a gift to a hospital.”

“Rin! How is she?” Kakashi rolled his eyes.

“You saw how she was before you collapsed idiot.” He said dryly walking over to place the plant on the bedside table.

“Something could have happened.” Obito protested “And I didn’t collapse Bakashi!”

“Passed out then.” Obito opened his mouth to protest but was cut of by a groan from the other side of the room. Both he and Kakashi stopped to look at the still covered bed, there was a few quiet moments where it looked like it was nothing and then the soft sound of movement. 

“Hello are you ok?” Obito calls ignoring the look Kakashi shoots him at that.

“I-” There’s the sound of coughing before a rough voice says “I, uh no?”

“I’ll go get a nurse.” Kakashi says heading for the door.

“Wait!” The boy says a note of fear in his voice, Kakashi stops facing the direction of the voice with a look of mild confusion.

“Don’t worry.” Obito says reassuringly realising with a start what the other must be thinking. “You’re out of that place, this is Konoha hospital.”

“Konoha?”

“That’s right.” Obito replies nodding before realising that the other boy can’t see him. “Bakashi.” He hisses, “The curtains.” Kakashi gives him a blank look before shrugging and pulling back the sea foam coloured curtain to reveal the small brown-haired boy Obito had rescued staring back at them in surprise. 

“Hi!” He says giving the boy his brightest smile. “I’m Obito and this bastard is Kakashi.” Kakashi glares at him but the other boy doesn’t seem to notice given how he’s staring curiously at Obito.  

“I, I recognise you. I remember seeing your face.” Oh yeah, he’d been slightly conscious when Obito had broken him out, Obito hadn’t expected him to remember that.

“I found you when I was breaking out.” He explains. “And I couldn’t just leave you there with what those assholes were doing.”

“Breaking out?”

“The idiot got himself kidnaped.” Kakashi says dryly.

“HEY!” Obito shouted indignantly glaring at Bakashi. “I’d like to see you fight those guys of.”

 There’s an amused sigh from the door. “Obito, Kakashi could you to please not fight in a hospital? The nurses won’t like you disturbing their patients.” Minato asks walking into the room.

“A bit late for that Sensei.” Obito says glancing at the boy in the other bed.

“So I see.” Minato replies smiling kindly at the brown-haired boy. “Hello, my name’s Minato, I’m Kakashi and Obito’s teacher. What’s your name?”

The looks down awkwardly at that. “I, I don’t know.”

“Wait you don’t know?” Obito asks curiously “As in you don’t remember?” Belatedly he realises that might have sounded rude and winces. Thankfully the other boy doesn’t seem to be upset by the question and just shakes his head.

“No. I-” He ducks his head looking down at the bed sheets “I don’t remember anything.”

“That’s understandable Minato says reassuringly “You have been through a lot, they might come back and if not, we’ll help you figure things out. Right?” He says looking at Obito and Kakashi at the last part.

“Of course.” Obito says with a wide smile, Kakashi nods chiming in a second later.

“Yes sensei.” 

The boy looks surprised for a moment before smiling. “Thank you.”

Minato smiles back kindly “It’s no problem. Now I should let the doctors know you two are awake.” There’s a knowing look at Kakashi and him as their sensei adds “Please keep the volume down while I’m gone.”  Then the door clicks shut laving the three of them alone.

“So” Obito says turning to look at the other two boys, “While we wait we should come up with a nickname for you.”

“Nickname?” The unnamed boy asks.

Obito nods at him. “Yeah, we’ll help you find your name of course, but until then we need something to call you right?” There’s a moment of pause as the other two think this over.

“That’s actually not a bad idea.” Kakashi says grudgingly and Obito smirks.

“Of course it’s not a bad idea Bakashi! My ideas are all awesome.”

Kakashi gives him a dubious look and pointedly doesn’t respond to that which Obito finds unfair, sure not all of his ideas have worked out perfectly but that doesn’t mean they weren’t still awesome. He’s going to tell the bastard that but remembers their sensei’s words when he left, he probably wouldn’t be happy if Obito started a fight only minuets after he told them not to, even if it was Kakashi’s fault. 

Instead he turns back to his still nameless roommate and smiles. “So what do you think?”

The boy thinks it over for a minuet before giving them a small smile back. “I would like that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A breather chapter now after the events of the last few chapters. I wasn't able to double check this before posting so if there's any errors let me know and I'll try to fix them.


	15. Animal Response: Amphibians and Reptiles

Mammals are often capable of fleeing a fire or seeking cover if they can burrow. Amphibians and reptiles may avoid flames by burrowing into the ground or using the burrows of other animals. Amphibians in particular are able to take refuge in water or very wet mud to escape the fire zone. They can then return to the afflicted area or settle in new territory.

 

* * *

 

 

“Kei?” Obito suggests “It has a lot of different meanings, so you can pick which one you like later.”

The still nameless boy on the other bed considered that for a moment. “Maybe.”

“Ok, Bakashi put it on the list.” Obito says with a smile. Kakashi gives him a glare at the order but notes down the name.

Tipping his head back Obito hums thoughtfully trying to think of a name they hadn’t mentioned yet. They had been doing this on and off for a couple of hours in between nurses’ visits and he was coming to realise that it was much more difficult to name a person than he had thought.

“Ummmm, Daiki?” A shake of the head for that one. “Ok, uh, how about Kyou?”

“You want to call him Apricot.” Kakashi says giving Obito a dubious look.

“HEY! It has other meanings Bakashi, like Cooperation, or Village and we could always add something to it. “

“I like the theme, but it doesn’t sound right.” The brown-haired boys says politely, he’s polite in general actually, and quiet, Obito doesn’t know if that’s part of his personality or a side effect of being held prisoner by those creeps. There’s a small flicker of anger at the memory of what was allowed to happen there but Obito squashes it humming to himself as he tries to focus on names.

“Can you not?” Kakashi asks pulling a face.

“Hey, I’m trying to think Bakashi.”

“It’s clearly not working.” Obito scowls at his teammate.

“Well I don’t see you coming up with any good names bastard.”

Kakashi glares back at him before huffing and looking thoughtful. “Yamato, for ‘Great Harmony’” He suggests after a few minutes.

Obito pulls a face but it’s not actually a bad name, of course Kakashi would come up with a good name like that, anyway it’s not his decision so he drops the look and watches the younger boy consider it. Before they get an answer the door opens and Obito looks over expecting to see another nurse but it’s instead it’s Minato with Rin standing next to him.

“Rin!” He exclaims happily leaning over to hug her as she ran to the bed.

Rin pulls back quickly a bright smile lighting up her face “Obito, how are you? You scared me passing out like that.” 

“I didn’t pass out I was just tired.” He protests automatically, Kakashi scoffs obviously at that, Obito gives him a glare before turning back to Rin. “Anyway, I’m doing fine, can’t wait to get out of here.”

“It shouldn’t be much longer.” Minato reassures him, “apart from some chakra exhaustion you were pretty much unharmed. The same thing goes for you.” He adds looking at the brown-haired boy kindly.

“Oh.” Rin exclaims pulling away from him. “That reminds me we haven’t been introduced yet. I’m Nohara Rin.” She walks over to the other bed and holds out her hand.

The other boy looks surprised for a moment before carefully taking her hand and shaking it. “Yamato.”

Kakashi looks both surprised and smug at the declaration and Obito groans wishing it was possible to flop back dramatically when he was propped up in bed.

“You remembered?” Minato asks with interests, and the newly named Yamato shakes his head.

“No, Obito and Kakashi helped me find a name.”

“It’s a nice name.” Rin tells him and Yamato smiles back genuine but awkward like he’s not quite sure how.

“How is the search going?” Kakashi asks and Obito follows his gaze turning to look at Minato, he hasn’t heard anything about the investigation since he woke up and while trying to find Yamato a name was a good distraction it hasn’t stopped the curiosity.

Their sensei gives a frustrated sigh. “There’s no news on Orochimaru yet, although we’re still looking.” Obito can guess from his tone that he doesn’t think they’ll find anything and he holds back a scowl. “On the other hand, he left a lot of damning information behind.” There’s an odd moment of silence as their sensei gives them a thoughtful look before he continues. “There has been one new development; however, it is not exactly good news. I need you all to give me your word that you won’t speak of this until it is formally announced”

They all agree immediately and Minato lets out another long breath as he sits down and explains.

“Due to his age and status Danzo was put under house arrest while an investigation was carried out.” That surprises Obito, he had never heard of anyone being put under house arrest before and most of his clan were police. Normally it was either T&I for security threats and prison for everyone else no middle ground. “A search confirmed he authorised the experiments and supplied subjects, we also suspect he was involved in tampering with the official records to cover his tracks.”  

“But isn’t that a good thing?” Rin asks. “That’s more than enough evidence to prove he’s guilty.”

“It would be, however when people were sent to retrieve him Danzo was missing and the ANBU assigned to monitor him were dead.” There is shocked silence as they process that before Kakashi asks.

“Didn’t they seal his Chakra?”

Minato nods expression serious. “They did which means he must have had help, but we have no clue yet who.”

“Orochimaru?” Obito asks his head still reeling from the news.

“Possible but unlikely. Danzo was very keen to let Orochimaru take the fall so I doubt there was any loyalty between them.”

Obito doesn’t know what else to say and judging by the silence no one else does either. His hands are clenched tightly into fists as he tries to fight down the boiling mess of emotions inside of him. It’s just, unfair, all those people hurt and dead and yet the people responsible are out there free to hurt even more. The news that Danzo may be behind the messed-up records is another stab in the chest but it pales beside the sense of yawning anger at the injustice.

A gentle hand rests against his arm and Obito looks up to meet Rin’s sympathetic expression.

“They’ll be caught Obito. I’m sure the Hokage has all the best Ninja in the village searching. Right sensei?” There’s a determined glint in her eye and Obito can’t help but smile a little the tightness in his chest easing subtly.

“Of course.” Minato says reassuringly “Everyone is doing their best to solve this and as soon as-” A firm knock on the door cuts him of but before any of them can answer it the door opens revealing the stiff, serious form of Uchiha Fugaku standing there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Word decided to go on strike which is why this is going up today rather than yesterday. :( At least I got it fixed eventually.
> 
> On a story point I was debating what name to have Yamato/Tenzo use in this verse but decided Yamato was easist to work in naturally. Hopefully I got all the name meaning right but if there's anything that's of let me know and I'll do what I can to fix it.


	16. Apical Dominance

Apical dominance is the phenomenon whereby the main, central stem of the plant is dominant over (i.e., grows more strongly than) other side stems; on a branch the main stem of the branch is further dominant over its own side branchlets.

Plant physiology describes apical dominance as the control exerted by the terminal bud (and shoot apex) over the outgrowth of lateral buds.

 

* * *

 

 

“Fugaku?” Their sensei says obviously surprised by the arrival of the Uchiha clan head, Obito is right there with him and has to double check that he isn’t gaping in surprise.

“Minato.” Fugaku say flatly “I’m here to speak with my clan member, leave us.” Minato frown at that.

“I’m Obito’s jounin sensei.”

“And this is Uchiha business.” Fugaku cuts in sharply. “If necessary you will be informed _but_ I need to speak with Obito first.”

There’s a moment of silent communication between the two men before Minato sighs and nods. “Kakashi, Rin lets go.”

“What about Yamato?” Rin asks not looking happy about the decision. The Uchiha head looks over at Yamato seemingly noticing the other boy for the first time.

“There are wheelchairs out in the hall.” He comments expression still neutral but not as stony as before “maybe a trip to the hospital grounds would be good for the boy.”

Minato nods and heads out to grab a chair. He comes back quickly and then he and Obito’s team are gone leaving him in an awkward silence with his clan head.

“They are protective of you.” Fugaku comments eventually “That’s a good sign in a team.”

“Um, thank you.” Obito manages and the words feel difficult, like they’re sticking to the inside of his mouth, he’s never spoken with his clan head personally and he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

There’s an odd pull at the corner of the Fugaku’s mouth before the Uchiha heads expression smooths back out into it’s normal stern look. “I will get straight to business. Do you know why Orochimaru abducted you?”

Obito freezes not sure how to answer that. Should he mention Mokuton? Has the Hokage told the clan? He regrets not asking his sensei more about what the village had been told.

“He. He didn’t say.” Obito says, it sounds embarrassingly week to his ears but if Fugaku notices he doesn’t let on.

“Did he show any interest in the Sharingan?”

“Not really, he didn’t really get the chance to do anything.” He explains and the clan head frowns slightly.

“Then how did you’re Sharingan activate? We were informed that it was the cause of your Chakra exhaustion.”

“They put a seal on me to stop Chakra. I was trying to escape and this guard surprised me and…” Obito trails of not sure how to put into words what he had felt, Fugaku seems to understand enough though and nods.

“That would explain things.”  There is a small pause before he adds. “And they never mentioned why they took you in particular?” Obito nods quickly and the Fugaku sighs “Then I will relay that to the elders.” He stands and Obito thinks that he his going to leave but instead the older Uchiha makes his way to the small window that looks out over Konoha streets. “You have no reason to confide in me, but you should know that Mikoto knew your mother when she was younger. I’m sure she has many stories should you ask.”

Obito doesn’t know how to respond to that, his mouth is hanging open in shock and he can barely pull himself together enough to say goodbye when the Uchiha Clan Head finally leaves.

He hadn’t thought about it but it seems obvious that some of the older member of the clan would know his parents. Would they also know why he has Mokuton? Obito doesn’t want to get his hopes up over nothing but at the very least he might get some answers. Another thought crosses his mind suddenly and he frowns, Lord Fugaku had kept asking about why he was taken and then he said that ‘you have no reason to confide in me’ does that mean he knows about Obito’s secret? But then why didn’t he mention it?

There are so many questions flying through his brain that Obito doesn’t even notice when his team has returned until Rin approaches him.

“Obito? What happened?” She asks approaching him gently, there’s a look of concern and worry on her face underlined by a core of steel protectiveness.  It’s familiar and reassures something in Obito that is struggling to understand what just happened.

“He, he asked if I knew why Orochimaru took me.” He explains glancing from Rin to Kakashi and Minato who are helping Yamato back into bed. “I wasn’t sure what to tell him.”

“The Hokage has been meeting with the clans about the Orochimaru situation, however no one is being told details about what exactly he was up to.” Minato says “However-”

“Everyone has been talking about it anyway.” Kakashi finishes with a sour look and Minato sighs.

“Yes, most of it hasn’t reached the civilians yet but all of the clans know he was experimenting with Mokuton. No one has been informed about your abilities though.” He adds quickly giving Obito a reassuring look.

Obito considers that biting his lip uncertainly as he tries to find a way to explain what had happened when he’s not sure how to think about it himself.

“What about me?” Yamato asks, voice small and careful but still clear in the moment of silence.

“No one knows anything about you yet.” Minato says reassuringly, “And no one needs to, if you’d rather avoid the attention then we can work with that.”

Yamato looks down at his lap, brown hair falling across his eyes as he asks, “Can I think about it?”

“Of course.” Their Sensei smiles kindly and after a seconds pause Yamato nods.

Without saying anything Kakashi stands up and Obito realises that his teammate is studying him in a faintly accusing manner.  

“There’s something you’re not saying,” He says once he’s standing at the end of Obito’s bed “Something else happened that you aren’t mentioning.” Everyone else’s attention is on them now and Obito flushes.

“It wasn’t like I was trying to hide it from you Bakashi!” He snaps.

“How are we supposed to know that when you keep bottling things up and getting yourself hurt idiot!”

“ENOUGH!” Rin shouts pushing between them. “Can you two please find a way to talk without arguing. Obito if there is something else please tell us.”

Obito ducks his head in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

Kakashi repeats that after a few seconds of glaring and Rin nods with a pleased look before turning back to Obito. “Now?” She says leadingly. 

Obito takes a deep breath before haltingly explaining what had happened and what the Uchiha head had suggested. There’s a moment of silence after he’s finished as everyone considers that before Rin asks.

“But if he knew something about your parents why wouldn’t he just say.”

“He might not be able to.” Minato explains. “Clan politics are difficult and a clan head still has to answer to the elders and tradition.” At their curious looks he adds. “it might sound surprising but Fugaku and I were teammates years ago and I heard a lot of complaints about it from him.”

“So, should I do it?” Obito asks.

“It’s worth a try. Even if you don’t learn anything about your abilities you’ll get some answers, just remember we’re here if you need to talk about anything.”

Obito looks from Minato to Rin still sat by his side to Kakashi and Yamato watching quietly from the other bed and smiles.

“I will sensei.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting for a chance to use this title for a while. :) It's such a good one for summing up clan politics and boy is there a lot of that going on.
> 
> The next couple of chapters are going to have some intresting revaltions and fallout so I can't wait to show you guys, hopefully this satisfys for now.


	17. Grafting

Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion while the lower part is called the rootstock. The success of this joining requires that the vascular tissue grow together and such joining is called inosculation.

 

* * *

 

 

Saying you are going to do something and actually doing that something are very different things Obito realises as he stands in front of the door to the Uchiha Clan heads house. It’s a very normal door set into a traditional well-maintained house but right now it looked as imposing as the entrance to a fortress because behind that door was Uchiha Mikoto, someone who knew his parents, someone who could tell him why-.

Obito closes his eyes and takes a few long slow breaths and knocks loudly before he can chicken out again. The door slides opens a few seconds later and Obito smiles nervously up at Uchiha Mikoto.

“Ah, Obito come in, I was wondering if you would visit.” She says politely stepping aside and ushering him into an open living area, “I hope you weren’t waiting out there to long?” She asks with a knowing glance and Obito flushes in embarrassment.

“No maam.” He says awkwardly.  

“That’s good.” Mikoto says letting the matter drop to Obito’s great relief and sitting down on one side of a long table. “Now take a seat, we have a great deal to talk about after all.”

That was one way to put it, Obito sits down opposite her and opens his mouth only to immediately shut it again as he realises he has no clue what to ask. Lady Mikoto kindly ignores his confused panic and starts pouring them both some tea.  

“I, you knew my parents?” He asks and winces a little at how small his voice sounds.

“Yes.” She says sliding a cup over to him. “Or at least I knew your mother, she was a bit older than me and would often take care of me and the other clan children. She was, very kind and a lot smarter than people gave her credit for.” There’s a small sad smile on her lips as she says this.  

“What happened to her?”

“She died on a mission a year or so after you were born. I don’t know the details.” Mikoto sets her cup down and reaches into a pocket to pull out a picture, Obito takes it carefully and stares. It’s a hand drawn sketch of a young woman, his mother certainly since she looks so much like the one photo he had been able to find, but she’s younger here maybe in her late teens and Obito almost forgets to breathe looking at it.

“She’s beautiful.” He mumbles without even thinking about it.

“She was.” Mikoto agrees. “Your father must have thought so to since he left his clan for her.”

Obito’s head snaps up and he gapes at the Uchiha Matriarch in front of him in shock as he mentally repeats what she just said. Left his clan for her, his father left his clan? His father _wasn’t_ an Uchiha?

“It was a large scandal at the time.” Mikoto explains, “The Clan head and the elders completely opposed it and after your parents’ deaths they made sure that no one would bring it up. Which is why this part of our conversation will not be mentioned understood?”

He nods mind still reeling, “If he wasn’t an Uchiha… who was he?” Mikoto’s expression turns from sad to serious.

“Before I tell you that I need to know one thing Obito. I don’t need details just a yes or no, ok?” He nods and she lets out a soft sigh as she leans back. “We know Orochimaru was doing experiments with Mokuton but did he ever mention you having it?”

Obito freezes not sure how to answer that, he wants to know who his father is desperately but he isn’t supposed to mention it to anyone. Still she’s not asking for details right?  And maybe this will explain why he has this ability.

“I think so.” He says eventually wincing a little at the white lie, it’s not incorrect after all so he has no reason to feel bad about it.

Mikoto looks troubled at that. “That’s not good.” She says and at Obito’s curious look explains “Your fathers name was Senju Masaaki.”

“I, that is, I mean, what?” Obito stammers and if he had thought his head was spinning before that had nothing on this. A small part of his mind is thankful that he isn’t holding the cup right now, but most of it is running around in circles made up of the words “Father”, “Clan” and “Senju”.

Mikoto allows him a moment to recover from the shock before explaining. “As I said it was a big scandal, your mother turned up one day and presented this young man as her husband and nothing anyone said could change her mind. He was already alienated from his clan but that still wasn’t acceptable to the elders. In the end they let her remain in the clan for the sake of her bloodline but it was never a comfortable arrangement.” There’s a tense, frustrated sort of sadness about her now as she looks at Obito. “I wasn’t allowed near her after that so I can’t tell you much more.”

There are so many questions that Obito feels like he is going to choke on them but the one that finally comes out it “Were they happy?”

“I think so.” Mikoto says kindly, “They were certainly in love.”

That’s a comforting thought, marriage in their world wasn’t always for love but the romantic in Obito had always hoped that his parents had actually liked each other. Of course, he had never expected a story like this and suddenly a lot of things are starting to make sense starting with his Mokuton.

He needs to speak with Minato, or one of team 7, he probably needs a lot of things right now but the one thing he knows is that he needs to find someone before he loses the delicate grip on his thoughts and turns into a cry-baby mess in front of the Uchiha matriarch.

“I, ah. I need to go.” He says awkwardly. “I have training.”

“It’s late for training.” Mikoto notes and Obito can feel his cheeks pink.

“It’s to, teach us how to work in low light conditions.” He says remembering something Kakashi had said about that weeks ago. Thankfully Mikoto doesn’t push anymore instead giving him a slight smile.

“Very well, give Kushina my best if you see her.” He nods scrambling to his feet.

“I will.” He’s just about to leave when he realises he’s still holding the picture. “Oh. Do you want?”

“Keep it.” She says and Obito smiles feeling the tears start to well up.

“Thank you.”

His legs feel shaky when he leaves and his whole body is a strange mix of exhausted and live wire energy. He clutches the picture closer to his chest and breaths out slowly before making his way quickly to his sensei’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it finally comes out. :) There still several mysteries to revel but this is the one that started them all, I hope it delivers.


	18. Aerobic Response

Fires can affect soils through heating and combustion processes. Depending on the temperatures of the soils caused by the combustion processes, different effects will happen- from evaporation of water at the lower temperature ranges, to the combustion of soil organic matter and formation of pyrogenic organic matter, otherwise known as charcoal

 

* * *

 

 

Obito wakes up the next morning in a strange bed and blinks up at the celling in confusion for a few moments before the mental fog clears and he’s swept away by the tidal wave of yesterday’s events. Tea with Mikoto, finding out about his parents, running to Minato’s place and spilling everything to his team over ramen before Kushina forced him into the guest room.

 For a moment Obito’s tempted to go immediately back to sleep and forget about everything but his stomach is complaining loudly so with great reluctance Obito forces himself out of bed. He dresses quickly only stopping when his eyes land on the small picture sitting on bedside table, sitting back down on the bed he carefully picks it up eyes tracing over lines that are already familiar, imbedded deep in his mind even without the Sharingan Obito doesn’t think he could forget it but he still keeps looking.

It’s strange, he’s been without parents his entire life and he’s seen what they looked like before so you’d think it would bother him this much but it does. More than any time he can remember Obito wants, he wants so badly to meet them but all he has are a few pictures and the words of people who aren’t even allowed to speak to him about them. 

There’s a sudden knock on the door loud enough that Obito jumps almost dropping the picture as he hurries to stand.

“Obito?” Minato calls “Are you up?”

“Yes sensei. Just getting changed.” He calls back setting the picture down carefully before reaching for his cloths.

“Ok, breakfast is ready downstairs when you are.” There’s the gentle sound of footsteps retreating down the hall and Obito hurries to get dressed even faster as his stomach reminds him again that he is starving.

When he stumbles downstairs and out into the bright kitchen he finds not just Minato and Kushina there but also Kakashi looking annoyingly perfect for this time of morning. Of course, most of his attention is quickly taken up by the food and he quickly slips into a spare chair and calls out a cheerful “Morning.”

“Morning Obito, how are you doing?”

“I’m, I’m ok Sensei.” He says and gives a reassuring smile “A good nights sleep helped a lot.” The company is helping as well, nothing has changed but down here surrounded by his team Obito already feels a lot better than he had upstairs.

 “Good.” Kushina says placing a large plate in front of him. “Because things are going to be busy for a while. Most of the top shinobi are trying to track down the traitors or sort out the aftermath and the rest of us have to pick up the slack.” She sighs heavily “I don’t know how I’m going to find time to visit Mikoto later.” Obito blinks and the mention of his clan Matriarch.

 “Um, why do you need to visit Mikoto?” Minato asks cautiously.

“Why shouldn’t I pretty boy? I was her teammate after all and it’s clearly been far to long since we had a catch up.” There a slight mischievous edge to her smile then that makes Obito decided to avoid his clan compound for a while.

Minato sighs but he’s smiling as looks over at her “Don’t start any fires please.”

“No promises.” Kushina responds kissing him on the cheek as she sits down and Obito watches as his sensei beams happily at her for several seconds before he snaps out of it and turns to face them.

“Speaking of things to do, we need to meet with the Hokage after this.”

“What about?” Kakashi asks expression faintly curious behind his mask.

“I think he wants to talk about recent events but I don’t know exactly, after that I’ll see about getting us a quick mission.” He gives them both a smile “After all the recent events some routine might be nice.”  Obito can’t deny that some normalcy would be a relief right about now even if he does still have questions that need answering.

With that announced they all dig in and are just finishing their meal by the time Rin knocks on the door. She smiles widely as they leave and hugs Obito in greeting, he hugs back grateful for her unwavering support. She quickly draws him into a discussion on a new medical book she picked up recently and after a while even Kakashi ends up commenting. Before any of them know it there being showed into the Hokage’s office to find a familiar small figure sitting in front of the old mans desk. 

“Yamato!” Obito calls out happily and the brown-haired boy jumps slightly before turning to look at them.

“Hi.” He says a small smile on his face. 

“How are you?” Rin asks with a warm smile before stopping with a blush on her face, “Oh, sorry for interrupting Sir.”

The Hokage waves of their embarrassment with a look of grandfatherly amusement. “It’s understandable, besides we were waiting for your team actually.”

“What did you want to speak to us about Sir?” Minato asks.

“A couple of matter, firstly though it appears Danzo and Orochimaru must have fled beyond Fire country’s borders but we are still trying to track them down.” The Hokage’s face becomes sombre as he says that “However it may take some time and there may be some risk to you and your team since you helped reveal this so please show caution outside of the village.”

“We understand.” Minato says the expression on his face turning dark for a moment reminding Obito of when he had appeared to fight Orochimaru. 

“Good. If possible it would be best to avoid them entirely but as things are at the moment and would attract far too much curiosity.” Picking up a scroll from the desk the Hokage hands it over to Minato.

“Now with all that said I do have a task for you and Team 7. Jiraiya has informed me that Tsunade is nearby.”

“Lady Tsunade?” Minato says looking surprised.

“Yes.” There’s another look of tired sadness one the Hokage’s face at that. “She has sworn never to return and though it might be soft I cannot bring myself to try and force her. However, this concerns her clan and she is still the greatest medic Konoha has ever produced, if anyone can understand Orochimaru’s work it is her. Give her the scroll but do not feel burdened if she will not return.”

Their sensei nods “Of course Sir.”

With that passed the Hokage appears to relax as though a weigh has been lifted from him, “Good, now with that said I do have one more thing to announce before you leave.” He gesture to Yamato still sitting quietly “It has been agreed that young Yamato here is ready to be integrated back into the general population however we cannot just hand over his care to anyone especially since he has shown signs of having Mokuton. Since your team is already involved in this affair the council have been convinced to assign him to your team.”

Obito can’t help himself from exclaiming “Really?” As he looks over at the brown-haired boy, Yamato smiles back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took a little longer to get up than I was expecting but that shouldn't happen again. This is a bit of a breather chapter after the revalations of the last one but we have a lot more stuff coming up soon.


End file.
